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Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

Anthropology,  Memoirs  Volume  II,  No.  i 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  EXPLORATIONS  IN  PERU 

PART  I 

ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 


BY 

A.  L.  KROEBER 

PROFESSOR  OF  ANTHROPOLOGY  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
RESEARCH   ASSOCIATE  IN   AMERICAN    ARCHAEOLOGY   IN   FIELD   MUSEUM 


13  Plates,  4  Text-figures 


First  Captain  Marshall  Field  Archaeological  Expedition  to  Peru 


BERTHOLD  LAUFER 
CURATOR  OF  ANTHROPOLOGY 

EDITOR     ■ 


Chicago 
1926 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

Anthropology,  Memoirs  Volume  II,  No.  i 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  EXPLORATIONS  IN  PERU 

PART  I 

ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 


BY 

A.  L.  KROEBER 

PROFESSOR  OF  ANTHROPOLOGY  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
RESEARCH   ASSOCIATE  IN   AMERICAN   ARCHAEOLOGY   IN   FIELD   MUSEUM 


13"  Plates,  4  Text-figures 


First  Captain  Marshall  Field  Archaeological  Expedition  to  Peru 


BERTHOLD  LAUFER 
CURATOR  OF  ANTHROPOLOGY 

EDITOR 


Chicago 
1926 


PRINTED  IN   TUB  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 
BY  riEI.D  MUSEUM  PRESS 


141246 


CONTENTS 

Page 

List  of  Illustrations 5 

Preface 7 

Known  Pottery  Styles  from  Trujillo  .   .  . 9 

Distribution  of  Known  Styles 1 1 

Observations  on  Sites 12 

Moche 12 

Chanchan 14 

Upstream  Sites 17 

Types  and  Styles     18 

Problems  of  Shape 18 

Proto-Chimu 21 

Middle  Chimu 23 

Late  Chimu  Blackware 23 

Late  Chimu  Colored  Ware      28 

Late  Chimu  from  Beach  Mounds 28 

Tiahuanacoid  Styles      29 

Three-color  Geometric  Style 31 

Cursive  Tripod  Style 31 

Cursive  Modeled  Style 32 

Red-White-Black  Recuoid  Style 34 

The  Chavin  Style     36 

Chronology 40 

The  Uhle  Scheme 40 

The  Hrdlicka  Scheme 40 

Inferences  and  Problems      41 

Additional  Notes 43 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATES 

I.     Pottery  Jar  of  Proto-Chimu  Style  in  Shape  of  a  Portrait-head. 
Chimbote:  Cat.  No.  111378  (Zavaleta  Collection). 

II.     Pottery  Vessels  of  Proto-Chimu  Style. 

Viru:  Figs.  1-5,  Cat.  Nos.  169935,  l6994i,  169940,  169936,  169942. 
Chimbote:  Fig.  6,  Cat.  No.  100 135  (Zavaleta  Collection). 

III.  Pottery  Whistling  Jar  of  Cursive  Modeled  Style. 

Chanchan:  Cat.  No.  169917. 

IV.  Spout-and-Bridge  Pottery  Jars  of  Cursive  Modeled  Style. 

Chanchan:  Cat.  Nos.  169919,  169918,  169922,  169916,  169920, 
1 6992 1. 

V.     Pottery  Jars  of  Red-White-Black  Recuoid  Style. 

Chanchan:  Fig.  1,  Cat.  No.  169944;  Fig-  3>  Cat.  No.  169943;  Fig.  4, 
Cat.  No.  169946.  Region  of  Trujillo,  site  not  determined:  Fig.  2, 
Cat.  No.  169906  (presented  by  Mr.  Preston  Locke);  Fig.  5,  Cat.  No. 
169904;  Fig.  6,  Cat.  No.  169905. 

VI.     Pottery  Vessels  of  Late  Chimu  Style. 

Beach  Mounds  at  Chanchan:  Figs.  1-4,  Cat.  Nos.  169911,  169910, 
169909,  169915.  Colored  Ware  from  Chanchan:  Figs.  5-8,  Cat.  Nos. 
169949,  169948,  169947,  169950. 

VII.     Pottery  Vessels  of  Late  Chimu  Style,  Blackware. 

Chanchan:  Cat.  Nos.  169991,  169955,  l69998,  169986,  170057,  169970. 

VIII.     Pottery  Vessels  of  Late  Chimu  Style,  Blackware. 

Chanchan:     Fig.  1,  Cat.  No.  169952;  Figs.  3-6,  Cat.  Nos.  169962, 

169981,  169968,  170008. 

"Chimu":  Fig.  2,  Cat.  No.  11 1374  (Gunther  Collection). 

IX.     Pottery  Vessels  of  Late  Chimu  Style,  Blackware. 

Chanchan:  Cat.  Nos.  169977,  ^9994,  170049,  169969,  170050,  170305, 
170032. 

X.     Pottery  Vessels  of  Late  Chimu  Style,  Blackware,  and  Figurines. 
Chanchan:    Cat.  Nos.  170042,  170043,  170075,  170076,  170074. 

XL     Cursive  Style  Painted  Designs  on  Pottery  Vessels. 

Chanchan:    1,  ia,  ib,  Cat.  No.  169918  (PI.  IV,  Fig.  2);  2,  2a,  Cat. 
No.  169917  (PL  III);  3,  3a,  3b,  Cat.  No.  169922  (PI.  IV,  Fig.  3). 
Region  of  Trujillo:   4,  Cat.  No.  169904  (PI.  V,  No.  5)    Huamachuco, 
interior  of  northern  Peru:    5,  University  of  California  4~3563b  (Uhle 
Collection). 

XII.     Pottery  Designs,  Style  of  Chavin. 

Chicama  Valley.    Specimens  in  Museo  de  Arqueologia  Peruana  (for- 


merly  collection  of  V.  Larco  Herrera),  reproduced  from  Tello,  Intro- 
ducci6n  a  la  Historia  Antigvia  del  Peru,  192 1 :  1,  PL  VIII;  2,  PL  X;  3, 
PL  XI;  4.  PL  XII. 

XIII.    Various  Vessels  and  Designs. 

Jar  of  three-color  Geometric  Style.  Chimbote:  1,  Cat.  No.  4935  (G- 
A.  Dorsey,  Collector). 

Late  Chimu  Colored  Vessels  and  Blackware  Moulded  Design  from 
Chanchan:  2,  Cat.  No.  169913;  3,  Cat.  No.  169912;  4,  Cat.  No.  169909 

(PL  VI,  Fig.  3)-  „     '  t 

Late  Chimu  Painted  Designs  from  Chanchan:    5,  Cat.  No.  169949 

(PL  VI,  Fig.  5);  6,  Cat.  No.  169947  (H.  VI,  Fig.  7). 
TEXT-FIGURES 

Page 

1.  Late  Chimu  Blackware  Plate  Bowl  from  Chanchan.    Cat.  No.  169888  .       24 

2.  Shapes  occurring  in  Late  Chimu  and  Other  Styles 25 

SM,  Stirrup-mouth;  DS,  Double-spout;  FS,  Figure  and  Spout;  HS, 

Head  and  Spout;  DJ,  Double  Jar;  HJ,  Handled  Jar;  J,  Jar  without 

Handle. 

Cat.  Nos.  1 7001 8,  1 7001 7,  1 7001 6,  1703 10,  1 70071,  170020,  1 70031, 

169995. 

3.  Chavin  Style  Incised  and  Painted  Design  on  a  Stirrup-mouth  from 

Moche.   a  Front  View,  b  Side  View.    University  of  California,  Cat. 

No.  4-2980 • 38 

4.  Chavin  Style  Incised  and  Painted  Design  on  a  Fragment  from  Moche. 

University  of  California,  Cat.  No.  4-2896 39 


PREFACE 

During  the  first  half  of  1925  I  was  commissioned  by  Field  Museum  of  Natural 
History  to  conduct  archaeological  explorations  in  Peru.  This  work  was  done 
under  authorization  and  supervision  of  the  government  of  Peru,  which  retained 
such  of  the  objects  secured  as  seemed  necessary  from  the  point  of  view  of  national 
interest.  Appreciation  is  herewith  expressed,  for  permits  and  courtesies  received 
and  for  the  desire  manifested  to  encourage  the  progress  of  scientific  knowledge, 
to  his  Excellency  President  Leguia;  to  Sr.  A.  Maguina,  Minister  of  Justice  and 
Education;  to  Dr.  Alberto  A.  Giesecke,  Director  of  Instruction;  and  to  Dr. 
J.  C.  Tello,  Director  of  the  new  national  Museum  of  Peruvian  Archaeology. 

Most  of  the  explorations  made  were  carried  on  in  the  coast  areas  of  central 
and  southern  Peru.  Delays  incident  to  the  classification  and  description  of  a 
collection,  and  the  editing  of  notes,  have  deferred  the  completion  of  the  proposed 
full  report  on  the  results  of  this  work.  This  present  preliminary  monograph  deals 
only  with  the  pottery  art  of  the  northern  coast  region  in  the  vicinity  of  Trujillo, 
which  was  more  briefly  visited. 

Trujillo  is  the  second  oldest  Spanish  city  in  the  land,  the  largest  in  northern 
Peru,  and  more  or  less  in  a  class  with  Cuzco,  Arequipa,  and  Callao  in  being  in 
the  primary  population  rank  after  Lima.  It  also  has  in  its  immediate  vicinity 
the  prehistoric  remains  of  Chanchan  and  Moche,  the  former  perhaps  the  largest 
ruined  city  of  Peru,  the  latter  containing  probably  the  highest  pyramid  at  least 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  country.  The  valley,  however,  seems  not  to  be  notably 
larger  than  others  in  north  Peru.  It  is  exceeded  in  size,  in  exports,  and  in  agri- 
cultural productivity  by  the  valley  of  Chicama  adjoining  it  on  the  north;  and  it 
does  not  seem  markedly  richer  than  Chicama  in  prehistoric  specimens.  It  is 
likely  that  many  of  the  specimens  labelled  "Trujillo"  in  museums  are  actually 
from  Chicama,  the  name  of  the  metropolis  of  the  region  having  become  attached 
to  them  instead  of  that  of  a  farming  district  little  known  abroad.  On  the  other 
hand,  Chicama,  in  spite  of  its  richness  in  specimens,  and  in  small  or  moderate- 
sized  ruins,  seems  to  contain  no  sites  of  the  extent  or  impressiveness  of  Moche 
and  Chanchan. 


ARCHAEOLOGICAL  EXPLORATIONS  IN  PERU 

PARTI 

ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

KNOWN  POTTERY  STYLES  FROM  TRUJILLO 

Trujillo  is  one  of  the  centres  yielding  the  Chimu  or  Trujillo  or  Northern 
Coast  type  of  pre-Hispanic  pottery,  which  was  for  a  long  time,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  Inca  products,  the  ancient  native  ware  best  known  and  most  abund- 
antly represented  in  collections  outside  of  Peru.  It  is  the  style  characterized  by 
the  finest  and  most  effective  modeling,  by  a  luxuriance  of  vessel  forms  bearing  a 
narrow  mouth  or  a  hollow  stirrup-shaped  handle,  by  the  frequency  of  bucchero  or 
smoked  blackware,  and  by  a  sparing  use  of  color  in  all  cases.  There  are  two  well- 
known  varieties  of  this  Chimu  pottery,  one  red  and  white  (with  a  small  admixture 
of  smoked  pieces),  the  other  usually  black  (but  sometimes  colored).  The  dis- 
tinction between  these  two  varieties  is  generally  recognized  in  Trujillo  to-day, 
and  must  have  been  known  long  ago,  since  each  of  the  two  great  ruins  of  the  valley 
yields  vessels  overwhelmingly  of  one  type. 

So  far  as  science  is  concerned,  a  classification  of  Trujillo  ware  was  first  made 
by  Max  Uhle,  who  having  excavated  at  Moche  for  the  University  of  California 
in  1899,  announced  his  results  at  the  Thirteenth  International  Congress  of  Ameri- 
canists at  New  York  in  1902,1  and  later  published  a  compact,  important  paper.2 
Uhle  showed  conclusively  that  the  red-white  style  is  earlier  than  the  one  in  which 
blackware  is  in  the  majority.  He  named  the  two  styles  respectively  Proto-Chimu 
and  Chimu.  As  the  latter  contains  Inca  admixture  at  times,  the  designation  Late 
Chimu  seems  warranted  and  more  likely  to  avoid  confusion.  Tello  uses  "Tallan" 
for  the  blackware  variety,  whose  centre  seems  to  have  been  in  the  habitat  of  the 
Tallanes  north  of  Trujillo.  He  reserves  the  term  "Chimu"  for  the  red  and  white 
style  ware.3 

Uhle  did  not  limit  himself  to  Proto-Chimu  and  (Late)  Chimu,  but  briefly 
described  scantier  remains  of  several  other  styles  which  he  intercalated  between 
these  two  dominant  ones.4  These  others  are  a  Tiahuanaco-like  ware;  a  post- 
Tiahuanaco  or  Epigonal  ware;  a  non-Tiahuanaco  ware  as  to  whose  temporal 
distinctness  from  the  post-Tiahuanacos  material  he  does  not  seem  to  be  quite 


1  Types  of  Culture  in  Peru,  American  Anthropologist,  n.s.  Vol.  IV,  1902,  pp.  753-759. 

2  Die  Ruinen  von  Moche,  Journal  de  la  Societi  des  Americanistes  de  Paris,  n.s.  Vol.  X,  1913,  pp.  95-117. 
Cited  hereafter  as  "Uhle,  Ruinen." 

8  Introduccidn  a  la  Historia  Antigua  del  Peru  (Lima,  1921).  His  chronological  diagram  in  this  work  postu- 
lates a  "  Pre-Tallanes"  and  a  "Pre-Chimu"  culture,  which  are  not  described  in  the  text.  The  red  and  white  style 
(his  Chimu,  Uhle's  Proto-Chimu),  centering  at  Chanchan,  is  placed  in  the  upper  half  of  his  Second  or  Pre-Inca 
period  (co.  a.d.  800-1150).  It  would  therefore  not  commence  until  about  a.d.  1000,  and  is  represented  as  influ- 
enced by  the  First  Period  Andean  style  of  Chavin  (previous  to  a.d.  800).  The  blackware  or  Tallanes  style  is  placed 
at  the  end  of  the  Second  Period.    Both  continue  into  the  Third  or  Inca  period  (a.d.  1150-1530).    Also  see  p.  43. 

*  Uhle,  Ruinen. 


IO  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

clear;  and  a  Red-white-black  Geometric  ware  similar  to  a  well-known  style  of 
the  central  Peruvian  coast.  The  latter  is  established  as  earlier  than  Late  Chimu 
by  a  stratification  encountered  by  Uhle.  As  to  the  place  in  time  of  the  three  other 
non-Chimu  styles,  his  evidence  is  complex  and  indirect.  Working  over  his  collec- 
tions and  data,  I  was  led  to  doubt  whether  these  three  "mediaeval"  styles  could 
be  separated  from  one  another  in  time.1  On  the  other  hand,  it  does  appear  that 
the  available  indications  make  them  earlier  than  Late  Chimu  and  later  than 
Proto-Chimu.  Thereby  the  priority  of  Proto-Chimu  civilization  to  that  of  Tiahu- 
anaco  seems  established.  Or  at  least,  to  move  conservatively  with  Seler,2  the 
priority  of  Proto-Chimu  to  the  arrival  of  Tiahuanaco  influence  in  the  Chimu 
area  seems  certain. 

These  intermediate  styles,  whether  they  represent  as  many  periods  or  only 
one  period  of  mixed  foreign  influences,  however  interrupt  the  development  from 
Proto  to  Late  Chimu,  which  two  styles  are  manifestly  more  similar  to  each  other 
than  either  is  to  the  intrusive  styles.  It  is  conceivable  that  the  Proto-Chimu 
style  died  out  under  foreign  influence  or  conquest,  and  was  then  subsequently 
revived  in  the  somewhat  altered  Late  Chimu  manner.  But  the  hypothesis  of 
such  a  renaissance  seems  weak:  Late  Chimu  is  too  close  to  Proto-Chimu  in 
most  fundamentals  to  make  a  complete  interruption  probable,  and  appears  too 
vigorous  in  its  motivations  for  a  resurrected  art.  The  more  likely  as  well  as 
simpler  explanation  would  be  that  the  old  Proto-Chimu  art  carried  on,  if  not  at 
Trujillo,  then  elsewhere  on  the  northern  coast,  during  the  era  of  foreign  influences, 
and  reappeared  as  Late  Chimu  at  the  end  of  a  continuous  development  on  Chimu 
soil.  This  theory  postulates  a  "Middle  Chimu"  style;  and  to  test  the  theory,  I 
have  stylistically  analyzed  available  Chimu  pottery  with  a  view  to  isolating  an 
ingredient  that  might  fairly  be  described  as  intermediate  in  character  between 
Proto  and  Late  Chimu;  but  without  arriving  at  more  than  tentative  conclusions.* 

There  exist  published  indications  of  still  other  styles  in  the  Chimu  area. 
One  of  these  is  represented  by  three-legged  open  bowls  included  by  Dr.  Uhle  in 
his  "non-Tiahuanaco"  material,  and  apparently  recognized  as  distinctive  by 
W.  Lehmann.4  Not  only  does  the  form  of  these  vessels  suggest  affinities  with 
more  northerly  areas,  but  their  decoration  is  in  many  cases  more  cursive  than 
customary  in  Peruvian  ceramics.  They  connect,  however,  with  other  three- 
legged  examples  painted  in  more  or  less  Epigonal  manner5  and,  according  to  a 
personal  communication  made  by  Sr.  Jij6n  y  Caamano,  with  the  Tuncahuan 
style  of  Ecuador. 

Equally  distinctive,  and  esthetically  of  genuine  impressiveness,  are  a  small 
number  of  vessels  (Plate  XII),  nearly  all  in  the  Museo  de  Arqueologia  Peruana 
(formerly  Larco  Herrera)  in  Lima,  several  of  which  have  been  illustrated  and 


1  Kroeber,   The  Uhle  Pottery  Collections  from  Moche,   Univ.   Calif.   Publ.  Am.    Arch,   and  Ethn., 
Vol.  XXI,  1925,  pp.  191-234.   Cited  as  "  Kroeber,  Moche." 
'  Gesammelte  Abhandlungen,  Vol.  V,  1915,  p.  130. 

*  Kroeber,  Moche,  pp.  221-224. 

4  The  Art  of  Old  Peru  (London,  1924),  p.  40,  note  68.  Kroeber,  Moche,  pp.  212-213. 

*  Hrdlicka,  Smithsonian  Misc.  Coll.,  Vol.  LVI,  No.  16,  191 1,  Plate  1;  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plate  69a,b. 


KNOWN  POTTERY  STYLES  FROM  TRUJILLO  1 1 

interpreted  by  Tello.1   He  designates  them  as  examples  of  the  type  of  Chavin, 

on  account  of  their  decoration  being  manifestly  related  to  a  remarkable  style  of 

carving  found  in  stone  monuments  at  Chavin,  in  the  north  Peruvian  interior. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  attributed  provenience  of  the  pottery  pieces  is  the  coast 

valley  of  Chicama,  the  one  next  north  of  that  of  Trujillo;  and  the  vessel  shapes 

are  coastal:   stirrup-mouths,  generally. 

Still  other  styles,  or  stylistic  influences,  will  be  discussed  below.    Those 

mentioned  may  be  recapitulated  thus: — 

Proto-Chimu,  red  and  white  modeled,  free  from  specific  Tiahuanaco  influences. 

Late  Chimu,  black  modeled;  usually  with  some  admixture  of  Inca  aryballuses. 

Middle  Chimu,  hypothetical. 

Tiahuanaco,  Tiahuanaco  derived  (Epigonal),  and  Tiahuanaco  influenced. 

Red-white-black  Geometric,  stratigraphically  below  Late  Chimu. 

Cursive,  on  tripod  bowls. 

Chavin. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  KNOWN  STYLES 

As  to  the  distribution  of  these  various  styles  within  the  northern  coast  region, 
only  two  facts  seem  as  yet  established.  The  first  is  that  nothing  in  true  Tiahu- 
anaco manner,  or  in  the  true  Red-white-black  Geometric  style,  has  yet  been 
found  north  of  Trujillo ;  although  in  the  face  of  the  incompleteness  of  all  Peruvian 
archaeological  data,  any  such  negative  record  must  be  provisional. 

Better  founded,  because  based  on  some  thousands  of  specimens  whose  source 
is  known  at  least  as  to  district,  is  the  unequal  distribution  of  Proto-Chimu  and 
Late  Chimu.  The  latter  is  by  far  the  more  widely  spread.  It  occurs  pure,  with 
only  minor  regional  variation,  from  Piura  to  Casma;  and  can  be  followed  as  far 
as  lea  and  Nazca.  Proto-Chimu,  on  the  other  hand,  belongs  to  the  valleys  of 
Chicama,  Trujillo,  Viru,  Chao,  and  the  Lower  Santa  (Chimbote).  In  these  its 
remains  are  about  equally  numerous  with  late  Chimu  ones.  The  next  valleys  to 
the  north  and  south,  respectively  those  of  Pacasmayo  (Chepen)  and  Casma,  still 
contain  some  Proto-Chimu  pottery,  but  as  a  minor  constituent  of  their  antiqui- 
ties; and  beyond,  it  has  not  been  reported.  By  valleys,  the  distribution  of 
Proto-Chimu  and  Late  Chimu  is:2 — 

Chira  (Amotape) L  Ch? 

Piura L  Ch 

Lambayeque  (Chiclayo) L  Ch 

Eten L  Ch 

Sana L  Ch 

Pacasmayo  (Chepen) (Pr  Ch)      L  Ch 

Chicama     Pr  Ch      L  Ch 

Trujillo  (Catalina) Pr  Ch       L  Ch 

Viru PrCh       L  Ch 

Chao PrCh       L  Ch 

Santa  (Chimbote)      Pr  Ch       L  Ch 

Casma (PrCh)      L  Ch 

Huarmey (L  Ch) 

To  south  beyond'      (L  Ch) 

1  Introducci6n,  op.  cit.,  Plates  8-12. 

2  Kroeber,  Moche,  pp.  224-229. 

»  Kroeber,  Univ.  Calif.  Publ.  Am.  Arcb.  and  Ethn.,  Vol.  XXI,  1925,  pp.  239-240. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  SITES 

The  svimmer  preceding  my  visit  was  the  rainiest  remembered  in  Trujillo. 
The  figures  given  me  were  of  a  rainfall  of  290  mm  during  three  days  of  March, 
1925,  and  over  300  mm  for  the  season,  as  against  an  aggregate  of  28  mm  for  the 
eight  preceding  years  1917-1924.  That  is,  a  foot  fell  in  1925  as  against  an  average 
of  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  previously.  Practically  every  structure  in  Trujillo 
was  damaged,  and  wide-spread  suffering  resulted.  The  ruins  did  not  escape 
unscathed.  At  Chanchan  one  of  two  adobe  relief  mosaics,1  which  I  had  seen  in 
good  condition  of  preservation  in  January,  while  my  steamer  lay  for  some  hours 
in  Salaverry,  was  destroyed  down  to  the  barest  traces ;  the  other  remained  in  fair 
state,  but  was  apparently  considerably  injured.  At  Moche,  damage  was  done  to 
the  mass  of  the  great  Sun  pyramid,  for  which  the  improved  view  now  afforded  of 
its  interior  structure  is  only  slight  compensation. 

MOCHE 

The  ruins  of  Moche,  nearly  equally  distant  from  Moche  and  Trujillo,  are 
customarily  approached  from  the  smaller  town,  but  in  the  dry  season  when  the 
river  has  shrunk,  can  no  doubt  be  conveniently  reached  from  Trujillo  in  a  few 
minutes  by  automobile.  They  rise  impressively,  somewhat  like  the  pyramids  of 
Teotihuacan,  though  less  high  and  less  bold.  They  he  between  the  conical  peak 
called  Cerro  Blanco  and  the  Moche  river — the  stream  of  the  valley  of  Trujillo — 
on  the  southern  edge  of  that  valley,  a  few  kilometers  from  the  sea.  There  are  no 
city  walls  and  no  significant  small  mounds  or  outworks,  the  ruins  being  sub- 
stantially confined  to  the  Huacas  ("temples"  or  "pyramids")  of  the  Sun  and  the 
Moon.  Both  names  are  probably  unauthentic.  The  Huaca  de  la  Luna  is  a 
terraced  platform  built  on  the  lowest  slope  of  the  Cerro  Blanco.  Across  a  dry 
plain,  with  its  back  against  the  river,  the  much  larger  Huaca  del  Sol  rises  free. 
The  principal  cemetery  is  behind  the  Moon  platform,  in  the  sandy  slopes  of  the 
Cerro,  and  follows  the  hill  around  to  both  sides  for  some  distance.  As  at  most 
sites  of  major  importance,  huaqueros  were  digging  loot  in  the  cemetery  the  day  of 
my  visit. 

Moche  is  distinctly  a  Proto-Chimu  ruin,  both  in  popular  local  opinion  which 
characterizes  its  pottery  as  "Colorado,"  and  superficially  to  the  eye.  Practically 
all  sherds  are  red.  The  great  majority  of  these  are  coarse  and  unornamented, 
from  utilitarian  vessels ;  but  fragments  that  show  modeling  or  are  neatly  painted 
in  red  and  white  can  be  picked  up  without  difficulty.  Not  only  the  cemetery 
beside  and  behind  the  Moon  pyramid  looks  red  from  a  distance  from  the  abund- 
ance of  sherds,  as  Middendorf2  says;  the  same  is  true  of  the  local  plain  be- 
tween the  two  pyramids. 

My  estimate  from  surface  conditions  as  compared  with  those  at  Chanchan 
would  have  been  that  Moche  was  essentially  a  Proto-Chimu  site,  and  its  Late 
Chimu  occupation  sparse  or  brief. 

1  These  have  been  repeatedly  illustrated;  for  instance,  in  Middendokf,  Peru,  Vol.  II,  p.  376. 
»  Peru,  Vol.  II,  p.  397- 

12 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  SITES— MOCHE  1 3 

The  Sun  pyramid  formerly  had  a  monte,  a  strip  of  trees  and  brush,  between 
it  and  the  river.  This  vegetation  shows  in  several  of  Uhle's  photographs  taken 
in  1899.  Through  this  vegetation  ran  an  acequia.  This  ditch  received  a  large 
part  of  the  flood  flow  of  the  river  in  March,  1925,  the  brush  was  torn  out,  and 
has  been  replaced  by  a  bare  waste,  and  the  river  scraped  against  most  the  western 
length  of  the  oblong  pyramid,  causing  quantities  of  adobes  to  fall.  At  the  project- 
ing southwestern  corner  the  adobes  obstructed  the  flow,  and  in  May  were  still 
damming  a  considerable  pond  that  washed  the  foot  of  a  great  part  of  the  pyramid. 

The  undercutting  and  falling,  which  obviously  have  also  occurred  on  pre- 
vious occasions,1  reveal  the  internal  mass  of  the  pyramid  as  built  solidly  of  the 
large,  well-squared  adobes  that  are  visible  on  the  surface  and  in  excavations  on 
both  pyramids.  There  is  none  of  the  retaining  wall  and  fill,  or  chamber  and  fill 
structure,  that  is  so  characteristic  of  the  equally  large  elongated  pyramids  of 
Aramburu  in  Lima  valley.  What  is  more,  apparently  the  whole  height  t)f  the 
Sun  pyramid,  and  at  least  most  of  its  length,  were  carried  up  at  one  time,  as  a 
single  undertaking.  This  is  again  in  contrast  with  Aramburu,  where  the  indica- 
tions are  of  a  gradual  accretion  both  horizontally  and  vertically.  The  Sun  pyra- 
mid structure  is  uniform  and  uninterrupted.  Near  the  northern,  lower  end,  the 
cut  face  above  the  talus  shows  pilasters  a  few  adobes  wide  and  from  5  to  8  m  high, 
each  apparently  raised  by  itself,  since  the  joints  do  not  break  between  one  column 
and  the  next.  Probably  each  apparent  column  is  the  end  of  a  wall  that  runs  across 
the  breadth  of  the  pyramid,  and  the  edifice  was  raised,  at  least  in  this  portion, 
by  building  up  walls  side  against  side.  This  might  conceivably  have  been  done 
at  intervals ;  but  the  walls  or  columns  are  so  alike  as  to  suggest  that  their  separate- 
ness  is  only  an  incident  of  the  method  of  construction,  and  that  they  were  reared 
more  or  less  simultaneously  (see,  further,  p.  43). 

It  is  clear  that  in  spite  of  the  masonry  of  the  Sun  pyramid  being  unusually 
good — and  that  of  the  Moon  is  identical — it  agrees  with  all  other  Peruvian  brick 
and  stone  construction  in  not  insisting  vigorously  on  the  breaking  of  joints  as  a 
fundamental  principle.  Some  compensation  is  found  in  the  fact  that  courses  of 
adobes  are  not  infrequently  laid  in  different  directions,  cross  instead  of  lengthwise, 
or  even  on  edge.  These  variations  seem  to  have  been  decoratively  rather  than 
structurally  motivated,  since  they  are  observable  mostly  in  exterior  work.  They 
were  also  noted  at  Chanchan. 

The  Huaca  del  Sol  as  a  whole  (i.e.  its  substructure  or  lower  pyramid)  is 
oblong  and  five-terraced.  Its  southern  half  is  surmounted  by  a  square  seven-step 
pyramid  somewhat  higher  in  itself  than  is  the  substructure.  At  the  southern 
foot  of  this  upper  pyramid  there  is  a  ledge  or  platform  of  the  substructure  or 
lower  pyramid.2  This  is  "site  A,"  which  was  used  as  a  cemetery,  and  in  which 
Uhle   obtained   his   Tiahuanaco,    "post-Tiahuanaco,"   and   "non-Tiahuanaco" 


1  Middendorf  (Peru,  Vol.  II,  p.  396)  tells  of  attempts  made  in  1602  to  find  treasure  in  the  huaca  by  hydraulic 
excavation. 

s  Kroeber,  Moche,  map  Plate  50,  site  A  corresponds  to  Uhle,  Ruinen,  map  Fig.  1,  site  D;  also  to  area  C 
(not  A)  in  the  larger  scale  map  in  Uhle,  Fig.  3  and  Kroeber,  Fig.  4.  The  designation  "site  A"  is  retained  because 
it  is  the  one  originally  applied  and  used  in  the  cataloguing  of  the  collections  made  at  Moche  by  Uhle  for  the  Uni- 
versity of  California. 


14  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

specimens.  The  precise  conditions  surrounding  these  three  lots  of  material  were 
however  sufficiently  complicated  and  obscure1  to  make  a  re-examination  of  the 
site  A  platform  desirable.  My  hopes  in  this  direction  were  destroyed  by  the  rains 
of  the  year,  which  completely  wrecked  any  traces  of  structure  that  previous  exca- 
vations might  have  left.  Where  Uhle  speaks  of  a  cemetery  filled  with  grave 
soil  0.8  m  deep,  in  which  were  constructed  tombs,2  there  are  now  gashes  and 
gullies  several  metres  deep,  smeared  over  with  dissolved  adobe,  and  with  but 
few  scattered  sherds  showing.  Even  the  most  painstaking  excavation  would 
probably  reveal  nothing  certain. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  similar,  slightly  smaller  platform  at  the  north 
foot  of  the  upper  pyramid.3  This  has  been  somewhat  less  torn  up  by  excavators 
and  water  than  the  southern  platform.  The  holes  in  its  surface  suggested  rifled 
tombs  originally  sunk  into  the  adobe  mass  of  the  pyramid,  rather  than  tomb 
chambers  of  adobes  erected  in  "grave-soil,"  as  Dr.  Uhle  describes  the  few  intact 
interments  he  succeeded  in  finding  in  the  opposite  A  terrace.  But  excavation 
would  be  needed  to  establish  this  point,  if,  indeed,  anything  can  still  be  deter- 
mined in  regard  to  a  spot  so  considerably  ruined.  The  wash  of  the  recent  rains 
afforded  at  least  one  advantage:  an  exceptional  number  of  sherds  had  been  ex- 
posed by  them.  The  usual  overwhelming  majority  of  plain  pieces  resembled  the 
fragments  to  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  Moche  ruins  in  texture  and  general  red 
color.  Of  the  painted  or  modeled  sherds  on  this  north  platform,  some  were  pure 
red  and  white  Proto-Chimu;  others  consisted  of  low  ring  pedestals  of  shallow 
bowls,  or  of  parts  of  the  sides  of  such  bowls  pressed  in  relief.  Parts  of  several 
such  bowls  were  gathered  (No.  1 69901).  This  is  a  significant  occurrence  because 
no  sherds  of  such  bowls  were  seen  elsewhere  in  the  ruins ;  and  particularly  because 
Uhle  collected  twenty  such  bowls,  wholly  or  partly  preserved,  in  his  excavations 
of  the  south  platform.4  They  constitute  in  fact  the  largest  group  of  vessels  found 
by  him  on  the  platform,  and  are  more  numerous  than  either  the  "Tiahuanaco"  or 
the  "Epigonal"  vessels.  My  fragments  are  therefore  a  corroboration  of  his  results 
at  site  A,  especially  in  view  of  his  having  excavated  carefully  for  days  or  weeks, 
whereas  I  only  gathered  from  the  surface  for  an  hour,  twenty-five  years  later.  In 
short,  there  can  remain  no  doubt  that  both  platforms  flanking  the  upper  pyramid 
of  the  Huaca  del  Sol  were  used  as  cemeteries  of  a  non-Chimu  and  post-Proto- 
Chimu  culture  which  has  not  yet  been  found  elsewhere  at  Moche,  but  which  has 
definite  affiliations  to  the  south,  as  at  Supe.5 

CHANCHAN 

The  dead  city  of  Chanchan  is  probably  the  largest  ruin  in  Peru,  even  sur- 
passing Pachacamac  in  extent.  It  is  a  maze  of  walls,  with  large  empty  courts 
and  spacious  rooms  or  houses.    It  contains  three  or  four  good-sized  huacas,  but 

1  Kroeber,  Moche,  pp.  207-212. 

2  Ubxe,  Ruinen,  Fig.  14. 

1  Area  B  of  Uhle,  Fig.  3,  and  Kroeber,  Fig.  4. 
*  Kroeber,  Moche,  210,  Plates  6sg,  h,  i,  66h. 

8  Kroeber,  The  Uhle  Pottery  Collections  from  Supe,  Univ.  Calif.  Publ.  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.,  Vol.  XXI, 
1925,  pp.  235-264;  especially  Plates  73IC-0,  75g-k,  78d,  f,  k,  n;  also  p.  246,  No.  19. 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  SITES— CHANCHAN  1 5 

the  smaller  pyramidal  structures  sometimes  interpreted  as  chiefs'  houses  are 
relatively  less  numerous  than  at  Pachacamac.  The  large  huacas  have  been  much 
spoiled  by  gold  hunters.  Their  names  were  given  me  with  uncertainty;  but  one, 
which  is  perhaps  the  huaca  in  which  the  legendary  peje  chico  of  treasure-seeking 
was  found  in  the  sixteenth  century,  has  been  exposed  to  its  very  bowels.  Its 
material  is  adobes,  smaller  than  those  at  Moche,  but  fair-sized.  The  innumerable 
walls  of  the  town  seem  at  first  glance  to  be  of  tapia,  continuous  clay  construction ; 
but  breaches  and  slips  reveal  that  considerable  parts  of  them  are  of  adobes  similar 
to  those  of  the  huacas,  the  aggregate  being  coated  with  clay.  As  at  Moche, 
successive  courses  of  bricks  are  sometimes  laid  with  different  faces  up.  On  the 
whole,  the  walls  have  stood  up  well,  not  infrequently  retaining  a  height  of  5  or 
6  m,  and  give  an  impression  of  relative  recency. 

Chanchan  is  bewilderingly  intricate  in  spite  of  the  roominess  of  many  of 
its  enclosures,  and  the  sketch  plans  long  ago  published1  cannot  but  be  inadequate. 
Bandelier,  who  worked  here  some  thirty  years  ago,  made  a  large  scale  plan  of  the 
ruins  which,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  may  be  made  use  of  by  publication  before  suffering 
the  accident  which  is  the  fate  of  so  many  manuscripts. 

The  fact  of  the  adobes  of  Chanchan  being  smaller  than  the  earlier  ones  of 
Moche  brings  up  an  instance  of  a  caution ;  namely,  against  the  hasty  identification 
of  a  culture  with  a  style  of  building  material,  such  as  large  adobes  with  the  Incas, 
tapia  with  the  immediate  pre-Inca  civilization  of  the  coast,  adobe  lumps  or  Cyclo- 
pean masonry  with  primitive  periods.  Not  that  general  construction  trends 
characteristic  of  civilizational  periods  are  lacking  in  Peru;  but  there  seems  to 
exist  a  greater  variability  within  cultures  than  most  writers  convey.  What  is 
needed  is,  first,  more  exact  data  on  the  building  materials  of  a  greater  number  of 
specific  sites  whose  pottery  or  other  artifacts  are  known ;  and  then  a  matter-of-fact 
synthetic  interpretation  of  the  data.  It  is  rather  evident  that  wherever  Nazca 
influence  is  discernible  on  the  coast,  round  adobes  are  frequent,  and  that  definitely 
Inca  structures  tend  to  contain  large  well-squared  ones.  But  the  present  example 
serves  to  show  that  the  larger  bricks  of  good  quality  may  also  be  the  earlier  ones ; 
and  many  cases  prove  that  the  prevailing  building  habit  of  a  period  or  culture 
was  often  locally  or  temporarily  modified,  perhaps  by  availability  of  material, 
example  of  neighbors,  or  obscurer  causes. 

Chanchan  itself  is  remarkably  poor  in  pottery  fragments,  and  nearly  all  that 
appear  are  plain  red — fragments  of  utilitarian  vessels  that  got  broken  now  and 
then.  There  are  also  few  evidences  of  burials  within  the  walls.  I  found  one  small 
cemetery,  whose  style  and  remains  tallied  exactly  with  those  outside  the  city. 

The  large  cemeteries  lie  between  the  city  and  the  beach,  stretching  perhaps 
2  or  3  km,  possibly  more,  as  I  did  not  examine  the  area  northwest  of  the  town. 
Immense  quantities  of  material  have  been  extracted  by  huaco  hunters  without 
exhausting  the  supply.  I  saw  unlicensed  diggers  at  work,  and  was  told  that  until 
the  March  floods  from  ten  to  fifteen  could  sometimes  be  found  operating  on  one 
day.   The  cemeteries  are  on  a  sort  of  terrace  which  is  nearly  of  the  level  of  the 

1  For  instance  by  Middendobf,  Peru,  Vol.  II,  pp.  373,  374. 


1 6  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

city,  and  separated  from  the  ocean  not  only  by  the  beach,  but  by  a  belt  of  low 
land,  partly  marsh.  Into  this  swampy  tract  the  cemetery  terrace  runs  out  in 
several  tongues ;  between  two  of  which  rushes  were  being  cut  and  bundled  for  a 
balsa  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  At  first  the  cemetery  terrace  seems  natural, — the 
edge  of  the  peneplain  on  which  the  city  stands.  But  inspection  shows  several  of 
the  tongues  to  have  a  definitely  rectangular  outline,  such  as  could  scarcely  be  pro- 
duced by  natural  agencies  alone.  Toward  the  south,  the  contours  look  less  arti- 
ficial, and  there  are  stratifications  that  seem  due  to  geological  rather  than  human 
forces.  The  material  is  loamy  or  sandy  soil  and  worn  rock  from  the  hills,  not 
beach  stones. 

The  pottery  on  the  surface  is  both  red  and  black.  The  contrast  to  the  all 
red  surface  fragments  of  Moche  is  striking.  Further,  none  of  the  redware  is 
ornamented,  but  much  of  the  blackware  is.  This  means  that  the  fine  and  most 
characteristic  pottery  of  Chanchan  is  black,  the  red  fragments  being  from  house- 
hold vessels.  I  was  told  that  at  the  north  end  of  the  cemeteries  graves  contain 
only  blackware,  while  at  the  south  end  both  red  and  black  vessels  of  quality 
occur;  but  I  cannot  confirm  this  statement. 

Toward  the  south,  several  low,  yellowish  mounds  rise  from  the  marsh,  which 
I  did  not  have  opportunity  to  visit.  They  are  said  to  be  huacas  that  contain 
graves,  but  are  not  often  dug  into,  because  their  loose  sand  makes  deep  excavation 
difficult  under  the  unsystematic  burrowing  methods  followed  by  the  huaqueros. 
I  secured  seven  vessels  attributed  to  these  small  huacas  in  the  marsh.  These 
specimens  are  described  below:  they  are  mostly  Late  Chimu  of  regular  type. 

It  is  evident  that  there  are  vessel  forms  in  which  collectors  are  not  interested 
and  which  huaqueros  therefore  do  not  trouble  to  bring  in.  Such,  for  instance,  are 
rather  large  black  plates  with  steepish  sides  (Fig.  i  on  p.  24).  These  are  often 
of  good  quality  and  well  polished.  They  lie  about  recently  opened  graves;  but, 
precisely  because  they  can  be  had  for  nothing,  seem  rarely  to  have  found  their 
way  into  museums  or  scientific  records. 

The  excavation  debris  on  the  cemeteries  is  surprisingly  similar  to  that  of  the 
majority  of  sites  between  Lima  and  Nazca — the  more  recent  pre-Hispanic  ones. 
There  are  the  same  undeformed  or  occipitally  flattened  skulls,  often  stained  green 
about  the  teeth  from  a  bit  of  copper  laid  in  the  mouth.  The  frequency,  or  degree, 
of  flattening  is  possibly  a  little  greater  at  Chanchan  than  farther  south.  Bodies 
are  flexed,  but  seem  to  vary  between  seated  and  lying  position.  They  are  mostly 
fragile  and,  since  the  huaqueros  treat  them  merely  as  signposts  to  the  vessesl  or 
metal  that  may  surround  them,  it  is  often  impossible  to  tell  the  position  of  a  body 
even  in  a  recently  opened  or  partly  opened  burial.  Textiles  are  also  badly  pre- 
served; in  general,  the  average  quality  seems  rather  poor,  the  types  similar  to 
those  from  Lima  south.  Spindles,  weaving  implements,  and  wooden  agricultural 
tools  also  resemble  those  on  the  central  coast.  It  is  clear  that  in  the  last  century 
or  so  before  Pizarro  the  culture  of  the  whole  coast  of  Peru  was  comparatively 
uniform. 

A  name  seems  needed  for  this  wide-spread  form  of  civilization  of  which  Late 
Chimu,  Late  Ancon,  Sub-Chancay,  Late  Chincha,  Late  lea,  etc.  are,  in  the  main, 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  SITES— CHANCHAN,  UPSTREAM  1 7 

only  local  varieties.  I  would  suggest  "Late  Coast,"  or  possibly  "Late  Peruvian" 
if  many  elements  of  the  culture  should  prove  to  extend  to  the  interior.  Dr.  Uhle 
in  his  "Pachacamac"  seems  to  imply  the  same  meaning  by  his  General  or  Com- 
mon Culture  of  the  Coast;  but  these  phrases  are  cumbersome.  Dr.  Tello  says 
simply  "Inca,"  with  reference  to  the  fact  that  specific  Inca  forms  are  on  the 
coast  associated  with  this  type  of  culture,  even  though  the  most  characteristic 
and  prevalent  elements  of  the  culture  are  not  of  specific  Cuzco  type. 

UPSTREAM  SITES 

Moche  and  Chanchan  dominate,  but  do  not  exhaust  the  archaeology  of 
Trujillo  valley. 

Upstream,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  is  a  group  of  fair-sized  mounds 
near  Santo  Domingo. 

Farther  up,  about  Quirihuac,  are  three  sites.  Just  upstream  from  the  settle- 
ment, on  a  "pampita"  at  the  foot  of  the  cerros,  is  a  cemetery,  without  surface 
indications,  of  shallow  and  deep  graves  in  rocky  soil.  The  sides  and  covers  of  the 
graves  are  of  stone.  The  sherds  are  pure  Proto-Chimu  red  and  white. 

On  the  opposite,  south  side  of  the  river  are  the  other  two  sites.  One  of  these, 
downstream  about  2  km,  is  a  terraced  mound  with  tombs.  The  other,  Jesus 
Maria,  is  upstream  about  the  same  distance  on  a  sandy  pampa  or  quebrada  delta. 
Both  are  said  to  yield  the  same  red  and  white  pottery  as  Quirihuac  and  Moche. 


TYPES  AND  STYLES 

While  no  excavations  were  made  at  Trujillo,  several  collections  were  seen, 
and  one  formed  with  unusual  intelligence  by  Sr.  Fernando  Jacobs  was  purchased 
for  the  Museum.  Of  this,  a  selection  was  retained  by  the  Museo  de  Arqueologia 
Peruana.  The  remainder,  with  a  few  odd  pieces  bought,  the  observations  made, 
and  the  data  available  in  literature,  render  certain  interpretations  possible. 

PROBLEMS  OF  SHAPE 

It  will  first  be  desirable  to  define  several  vessel  shapes  which  will  be  referred 
to  frequently.  These  shapes,  with  the  names  and  symbols  adopted  for  them,  are 
shown  in  Fig.  2  (p.  25). 

The  stirrup-mouth,  SM,  is  the  pottery  form  most  characteristic  of  Trujillo 
and  the  northern  coast  area.  It  is  abundant  both  in  Proto  and  Late  Chimu.  It 
does  not  appear  elsewhere  in  Peru  except  in  associations  which  either  show  other 
Chimu  traits  or  are  definitely  late.  Most  frequently  at  a  distance  from  the  Chimu 
area,  the  stirrup-mouth  appears  associated  with  aryballus  or  other  specific  Inca 
forms.  This  shape  then  is  clearly  a  Proto-Chimu  invention,  so  far  as  Peru  is 
concerned. 

The  double-spout,  DS,  is  fairly  common  in  Late  Chimu,  but  wholly  lacking 
from  Proto-Chimu.  Its  earliest  occurrence  in  Peru  seems  to  be  in  the  Nazca 
region.  It  is  characteristic  of  both  the  principal  Nazca  (Proto-Nazca)  styles, 
which  Gayton  and  Kroeber1  have  designated  A  and  B  and  Dr.  Tello  Nazca  and 
Pre-Nazca,  and  which,  being  free  of  Tiahuanaco  influences,  are  almost  certainly 
pre-Tiahuanaco  in  age.  The  double  spout  is  therefore  clearly  old  on  the  southern 
coast,  and  was  probably  invented  there.  In  its  Nazca  form  the  spouts  are  short, 
cylindrical,  and  parallel;  that  is,  vertical.  Outside  of  the  Nazca  style  the  spouts 
are  always  long,  tapering,  and  spreading.  Quite  frequently  also  the  non-Nazca 
double-spout  vessels  bear  Tiahuanaco-influenced  designs,  as  at  Pachacamac, 
Ancon,  and  Supe.2  In  Late  Chimu  these  Tiahuanacoid  designs  are  lacking,  but 
the  form  of  the  vessel  is  that  which  it  has  in  central  Peru.  Definitely  late  ware 
south  of  the  Chimu  area  has  few  double-spouts :  this  shape  evidently  went  prac- 
tically out  of  use  in  the  region  of  its  presumable  origin,  while  it  was  still  flourish- 
ing in  the  region  which  it  reached  latest. 

The  head-and-spout,  HS,  looks  like  a  modification  of  the  double-spout,  a 
modeled  head  replacing  one  of  the  spouts.  It  is  not  found  in  Nazca  style  A,  but 
occurs  in  Nazca  B  (Tello's  Pre-Nazca).  On  the  central  coast  it  appears  in  asso- 
ciation with  the  Tiahuanaco-influenced  double-spouts.8   In  the  north,  the  head- 


1  Univ.  Calif.  Publ.  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.  (in  press). 

1  For  instance,  Kroeber,  Supe,  work  cited,  Plate  74. — The  Proto-Lima  ware  of  Nieveria  and  especially  the 
Chancay  El  style  ware  include  double-spouts  that  are  nearer  in  shape  to  the  Nazca  ones  than  those  in  other  central 
coast  styles  (Kroeber,  Chancay,  Univ.  Calif.  Publ.  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.,  Vol.  XXI,  Plates  88,  89) ;  but  there  is 
other  definite  Nazca  influence  in  these  two  styles. 

*  As  at  Supe:  Kroeber,  Plate  74. 

18 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— PROBLEMS  OF  SHAPE  1 9 

and-spout  is  lacking  from  Proto-Chimu,  but  is  fairly  frequent  in  late  Chimu.1 
This  again  looks  like  a  gradual  spread  from  south  to  north,  and  supports  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  shape  as  having  arisen  out  of  the  double-spout.  On  the  basis  of 
mere  form,  the  head-and-spout  could  theoretically  be  just  as  well  derived  from 
the  stirrup-mouth,  since  the  stirrup  often  occurs  attached  to  a  modeled  human 
or  animal  figure  (Plate  II,  Figs,  i,  3,  5).  But  such  an  interpretation  would 
leave  the  south  and  central  Peruvian  distributions  and  sequences  unexplained. 

The  figure-and-spout,  FS,  is  even  more  obviously  related  to  the  double- 
spout.  Its  distribution  and  history  are  similar  to  those  of  the  head-and-spout, 
except  that  it  is  rarer  in  south  and  middle  Peru,  and  seems  to  have  had  its  main 
vogue  in  the  late  Chimu  style.  The  double  jar,  whose  discussion  follows,  may 
have  had  an  influence  in  the  development  of  the  figure-and-spout  vessel. 

The  double  jar,  DJ,  has  a  reverse  history  from  the  preceding  shapes.  It  does 
not  occur  in  pure  Nazca  style  ware,  but  is  found  in  Proto-Chimu.2  It  is  relatively 
more  abundant  in  Late  Chimu.8  Farther  south,  it  is  not  common  except  in  asso- 
ciation with  Chimu  or  Inca  influences.  For  this  shape,  then,  the  indicated  spread 
was  from  north  to  south.  It  has  evidently  affected  the  head-and-spout  and  fig- 
ure-and-spout shapes,  perhaps  largely  causing  their  development  out  of  the 
double-spout.  This  conclusion  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  Chimu  double 
jars,  both  Proto  and  Late,  whistle  when  they  are  blown  into  or  when  water  is 
tilted  from  the  rear  into  the  front  chamber.  The  Late  Chimu  figure-and-spouts 
and  head-and-spouts  also  whistle;  whereas  those  from  farther  south  usually  do 
not,  except  when  they  are  late  and  Chimu-influenced. 

The  handled  and  handleless  jars,  HJ  and  J  of  Fig.  2  (p.  25),  require  no  com- 
ment other  than  the  observation  that  the  handled  form  does  not  occur  in  Proto- 
Chimu  whereas  the  handleless  is  exceedingly  common.4  The  only  handled  shape 
in  Proto  Chimu  has  a  long,  even,  vertical  spout  with  a  round  quarter-circle 
handle,5  and  is  without  figure  modeling.  This  shape  is  evidently  related  to  the 
stirrup-mouth.  On  the  contrary,  Late  Chimu  jar-handles  are  typically  flat  instead 
of  cylindrical,  in  which  they  agree  with  Late  Chimu  double-spouts,  double  jars, 
and  figure  and  head-and-spouts,  whose  "bridges"  are  ribbon-like.  Proto-Chimu 
bridges  on  double  jars  have  half -rounded  handles.  There  is  thus  a  definite  pattern 
set  that  holds  consistently  for  Proto-Chimu  and  another  that  holds  largely  for 
Late  Chimu.  The  characteristic  Proto-Chimu  form  that  has  a  handle  or  equivalent 
is  the  stirrup-mouth ;  the  long-spouted  jar  and  double  jar  have  their  cylindrical  or 
roundish  handles  determined  by  the  stirrup-mouth.  Late  Chimu  retains  the 
stirrup-mouth,  but  has  nearly  lost  the  long-spouted  jar,6  has  made  its  double  jar- 
bridges  flat  to  conform  with  the  flat  bridge  of  the  introduced  double-spout  and 
its  derivations,  and  has  added  a  flat  handle  to  many  of  its  ordinary  jars. 

In  summary,  the  earliest  known  pottery  of  the  northern  coast  (Proto-Chimu) 
is  characterized  by  double  jars  and  especially  by  stirrup-mouths  and  by  absence 

1  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plate  6oa,  Late  Chimu,  vs.  no  examples  in  a  larger  Proto-Chimu  collection,  Plates  53-59. 

8  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plate  56k,  1. 

'  Ibid.,  Plates  60c,  i,  61b,  62e;  see  also  Plate  IX  of  this  publication. 

4  Kroeber,  Moche,  p.  201,  shapes  6  and  7,  221  pieces  out  of  594;  cf.  Plate  59. 

*  Ibid.,  shape  8,  25  pieces  out  of  594,  Plate  57a,  b,  c.   Compare  stirrup-mouths,  shapes  9-15:  251  of  594. 

*  When  it  does  occur,  the  spout  tapers,  and  the  handle  is  flat. 


20  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

of  handles  except  tubular  ones  related  to  the  stirrup.  The  earliest  known  southern 
coast  ware  (Nazca)  lacks  these  forms,  substituting  the  double-spout  and  deriva- 
tive head-and-spout.  Its  handles  are  confined  to  flat  bridges  on  these  shapes. 
Early  central  coast  pottery  was  without  any  such  distinctive  shapes,  but  was 
invaded  by  the  southern  ones,  which  underwent  modification  and  became  asso- 
ciated with  highland  (Tiahuanacoid)  traits.  These  modified  forms  were  accepted 
in  the  north  in  Late  Chimu  times,  alongside  the  old  native  northern  shapes,  plus 
hybrids  like  the  figure-and-spout,  and  with  a  general  prevalence  of  flat  handles. 

The  foregoing  analysis  serves  three  purposes.  First,  it  shows  the  relation  of 
the  two  Chimu  styles  to  be  one  of  purity  for  the  earlier,  and  mixedness  for  the 
later,  at  least  with  reference  to  the  coast  of  Peru.  Proto-Chimu  may  prove  to 
have  absorbed  influences  of  Andean  styles  or  from  north  of  Peru;  it  is  devoid  of 
any  direct  influences  emanating  from  Nazca  or  elsewhere  in  the  coast  regions  to 
the  south.  Late  Chimu,  however,  almost  certainly  contains  a  Nazca  and  a  Coast 
Tiahuanacoid  strain  besides  its  Inca  elements.  Since  these  Nazcoid- Tiahuana- 
coid elements  (double-spout,  head-and-spout)  appear  in  Pre-Inca  associations  on 
the  central  coast,  they  were  probably  accepted  from  that  area  by  the  Chimu 
before  specific  Inca  elements  (aryballus)  reached  the  northern  coast.  After  the 
absorption  of  the  Inca  strain,  the  final  composite  Late  Chimu  style  flooded  back 
southward  for  almost  the  length  of  Peru,  and  seems  also  to  have  flowed  northward 
to  the  limits  of  the  country. 

Secondly,  our  analysis  defines  the  Proto  and  Late  Chimu  styles,  so  that  other 
styles  found  in  the  area  may  be  placed  in  relation  to  them,  typologically  and 
therefore,  hypothetically  at  least,  chronologically,  in  the  discussions  of  these 
styles  that  follow. 

The  third  point  is  theoretical.  Wissler1  has  recently  discussed  the  distribu- 
tion of  several  of  the  above  shapes  the  world  over.  He  finds  the  double  jar  (twin 
vase),  double-spout  (twin  spouts),  and  stirrup-mouth  (ring  neck)  occurring  in 
Peru  and  Ecuador,  southern  Mexico,  the  Pueblo  area,  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
Africa,  and  nowhere  else.  In  each  case  the  distribution  is  such  as  to  suggest  a 
development  of  the  three  shapes  in  the  order  named.  A  bottle-neck  jar  or  bottle 
vase  is  also  found  in  these  five  areas,  as  well  as  in  several  others;  from  which 
Wissler  concludes  that  it  preceded  the  three  other  shapes,  the  partial  or  complete 
sequence  of  the  four  forms  in  the  several  separate  areas  representing  as  many 
parallel,  independent  inventions  springing  from  a  common  basis  or  "plateau"  of 
pottery,  possibly  under  the  stimulus  of  gourd  forms. 

If  the  relative  ages  of  Peruvian  cultures  were  known  with  certainty,  Wissler's 
reconstruction  could  be  put  to  the  final  archaeological  test.  However,  as  both 
Uhle  and  Tello  make  Proto-Nazca  (Pre-Nazca)  earlier  than  Proto-Chimu,  we 
may  assume  this  relation.   It  follows  then: — 

(i)  The  stirrup-mouth  (Wissler's  stage  4)  is  absolutely  later  than  the 
double-spout  (stage  3),  but  originated  in  an  area  in  which  at  the  time  the  double- 
spout  was  not  known,  or  at  least  not  in  use.    Conversely,  the  double-spout  (3) 

1  The  Relations  of  Nature  to  Man  in  Aboriginal  America,  19J6,  pp.  67-76. 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— PROBLEMS  OF  SHAPE,  PROTO-CHIMU  21 

became  decadent  in  the  area  of  its  invention  without  the  stirrup-mouth  (4)  being 
invented  there,  or  even  introduced  except  sporadically. 

(2)  The  double  jar  (2)  is  found  concurrently  with  the  stirrup-mouth  (4)  in 
the  district  of  the  latter's  invention.  As  our  backward  perspective  cuts  off  sud- 
denly with  Proto-Chimu,  we  cannot  be  certain  as  to  the  original  time  relation  of 
the  two  forms.  But  as  the  stirrup-mouth  is  much  more  abundant  than  the  double 
jar  when  the  Proto-Chimu  record  opens,  the  indication  is  against  its  having  been 
developed  later.  In  the  south,  the  double-jar  (2)  was  lacking  when  the  Nazca 
double-spout  (3)  originated,  and  was  only  introduced  and  sporadically  used  much 
later. 

(3)  The  bottle-neck  jar  (1)  was  absent  in  the  south  when  the  double -spout 
(3)  came  into  use  there.  It  was  present  in  the  north  when  the  double  jar  (2)  and 
stirrup-mouth  (4)  are  first  encountered  there  only  if  the  long-spouted  quadrant- 
handled  Proto-Chimu  jar1  be  reckoned  as  a  "bottle  vase." 

While  in  a  loose  sort  of  way  the  Peruvian  data  parallel  those  from  other  parts 
of  the  world  rather  astonishingly,  and  the  recognition  of  this  by  Wissler  is  surely 
significant,  it  seems  from  the  foregoing  that  his  schematic  reconstruction  of  a 
sequence  of  forms  does  not  hold  in  detail  for  Peru.  Of  course,  our  data  are  far 
from  complete,  and  it  may  be  that  knowledge  of  the  antecedents  of  the  so-called 
Proto-Chimu  and  Proto- Nazca  styles  would  revindicate  the  hypothetical 
scheme.2  If  these  cultures  had  been  imported  more  or  less  bodily  into  Peru, 
Wissler's  conjectured  sequence  might  be  better  confirmed,  though  at  the  loss  of 
his  inference  of  independent  development  in  South  America.8 

PROTO-CHIMU    Plates  I,  II 

The  touchstone  for  the  Proto-Chimu  style  is  the  collection  excavated  at  the 
Huaca  de  la  Luna  at  Moche  by  Uhle  for  the  University  of  California,  since  this 
is  the  only  described  series  with  grave  proveniences  and  other  data.4 

The  only  specimens  to  be  added  here  from  the  Field  Museum  collections  are 
the  splendid  stirrup-mouth  portrait  head  shown  in  Plate  I,  which  is  from  the 
Zavaleta  collection  from  Chimbote;  the  portrait-head  jar  in  Plate  II,  Fig.  6,  also 
from  Chimbote  and  the  Zavaleta  collection;  and  the  five  stirrup-mouths  (Plate  II, 
Figs.  1-5)  which  are  part  of  the  Jacobs  collection  secured  by  myself  for  the 
Museum  and  which  are  attributed  to  Viru,  the  valley  next  south  to  that  of 
Trujillo.  Three  of  these  five  vessels  (Plate  II,  Figs.  1-3)  approach  what  I  con- 
sider Middle  Chimu  manner.  The  one  in  Plate  II,  Fig.  1,  is  unpainted  reddish 
buff;  2  is  red,  white,  and  black  (brown);  5  is  red  and  white.  Those  in  Plate  II, 
Figs.  3-4,  are  indubitably  Proto-Chimu,  and  so  are  five  other  pieces  of  Jacobs  from 
Viru,  not  here  illustrated.  An  eleventh  vessel  attributed  to  Viru  is,  however,  clear 


1  Shape  8  of  Kroeber,  Moche,  p.  201. 

*Tello  derives  both  Nazca  and  Proto-Chimu  from  an  Archaic  Andean  culture;  but  this  culture  is  not  known 
to  contain  any  of  the  four  shapes  discussed  by  Wissler.  The  nearest  resemblance  is  a  sort  of  rude,  bridgeless  head- 
and-spout  (Introducci6n,  Plate  IV). 

*  Uhle  has  for  some  time  argued  for  a  Mayoid  origin  of  Peruvian  cultures,  and  lately  has  been  inclined  to 
connect  the  ancient  Mississippi  valley  culture  with  both. 

*  Kroeber,  Moche,  199-204,  216-221,  Plates  53-59,  67a-e. 


22  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

Late  Chimu:  a  small,  poorly  made  cat  figure  with  a  monkey  modeled  on  the 
handle. 

A  comparison  of  Proto  and  Late  Chimu  vessel-shapes  shows  about  an  equal 
number  of  forms  confined  to  Proto-Chimu,  confined  to  Late  Chimu,  and  common 
to  both.  The  Proto-Chimu  occurrences  and  frequencies  in  the  appended  tabula- 
tion are  condensed  from  those  previously  published  on  the  Uhle  collection.  Since 
this  series  consists  of  nearly  six  hundred  vessels  and  comprises  all  the  objects 
found  in  a  number  of  pure  Proto-Chimu  tombs,  the  frequencies  can  be  assumed 
as  fairly  representative.  As  there  is  no  corresponding,  unselected  series  of  Late 
Chimu  ware  available,  only  occurrence  and  absence  can  be  indicated  for  this 
style,  although  the  relative  frequency  of  the  more  ornamental  forms  can  be 
approximately  estimated,  as  discussed  below  in  the  description  of  the  Late 
Chimu  pottery  secured. 

Proto-Chimu  and  Late  Chimu  Shape  Frequencies1 

Shape  Description  Pr-Ch  Late  Ch 

9-15      Stirrup-mouth 42  xx 

8      Long-spouted  jar,  tubular  quadrant  handle    ...  4  — 

(14)     Double  jar (0.3)  x 

Double-spout —  x 

Head-and-spout —  x 

Figure-and-spout      —  x 

5       Constricted-mouth  dipper  with  tubular  handle  .    .  2  — 

3      Concavely  flaring  bowl,  flat-bottomed 9  — 

2       Globular  bowl  with  lid 1  — 

2       Globular  bowl  without  lid (?)  x 

1      Pot  with  lip,  no  handles 4  x 

Pot  with  lip,  handles —  x 

6,  7      Jar,  abrupt  flaring  mouth,  no  handles 38  x 

Jar,  one  flat  handle —  x 

Jar,  long  tapering  spout —  x 

Aryballus —  x 

Goblet,  quero-shaped —  x 

4,16      Other  forms (0.5)  x 

100 

The  outstanding  fact  derivable  from  this  summary  is  that  there  is  no  Nazca, 
Nazcoid,  Tiahuanacoid,  or  Inca  influence  in  Proto-Chimu,  a  conclusion  confirmed 
by  examination  of  design.2  Proto-Chimu  may  be  later  than  the  first  developed 
style  of  Nazca  or  even  of  Tiahuanaco,  but  was  independent  of  them,  whereas 
Late  Chimu  has  incorporated  elements  from  both. 

On  the  other  hand,  Proto-Chimu  shows  certain  affinities  with  ancient  styles 
of  the  northern  Sierra,  and  these  affinities  appear  to  have  died  out  by  Late-Chimu 
time.  Thus  the  constricted-mouth  dipper  or  drinking  vessel  with  cylindrical 
handle  (shape  5)  appears  in  the  North  Andean  Archaic  of  Tello.3  The  concavely 


1  The  Proto-Chimu  shape  numbers  are  designated  as  in  Kroeber,  Moche,  p.  201.  Under  Late  Chimu,  a 
cross  denotes  occurrence;  a  dash,  absence. 

1  Proto-Chimu  shares  certain  design  motives,  such  as  the  step-fret,  with  other  Peruvian  styles,  but  as  these 
motives  are  virtually  pan-Peruvian,  they  cannot,  in  our  present  knowledge,  be  used  to  establish  stylistic  deriva- 
tions or  influences. 

*  Introduction,  Plate  Ilia. 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— PROTO  MIDDLE  AND  LATE  CHIMU  IT, 

flaring  bowl  (shape  3)  somehow  impresses  as  having  relations  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. Figure-modeled  jars  in  the  old  North  Andean1  may  be  related  to  Proto- 
Chimu  jars  and  stirrup-mouth  bodies.  A  North  Andean  quasi-double  jar2  is 
possibly  to  be  connected  with  the  double  jar  occasionally  appearing  in  Proto- 
Chimu  as  well  as  with  the  later  head-and-spout  form. 

This  is  not  an  imposing  array  of  resemblances,  but  it  does  yield  some  indi- 
cation of  partial  sources  for  the  Proto-Chimu  style,  which  otherwise  seems  to 
srping  into  existence  out  of  nothing. 

The  Chavin,  Cursive,  and  Recuoid  style  pieces  from  the  Chimu  coast  land, 
discussed  below,  also  have  definite  affiliations  to  the  northern  interior.  As  to  the 
place  of  these  styles  in  the  sequential  development  of  culture  along  the  coast,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  Cursive  and  Recuoid  styles  contain  shapes  like  the  figure- 
and-spout  which  do  appear  in  Late,  but  not  in  Proto-Chimu;  so  that  these  two 
styles  are  indicated  as  post-Proto-Chimu.  The  Chavin  style,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  known  from  stirrup-mouths  and  not  in  shapes  with  a  bridge ;  so  that  its  tem- 
poral as  well  as  typological  relations  are  likely  to  be  closer  with  Proto-Chimu. 

MIDDLE  CHIMU 

There  is  nothing  in  the  collections  obtained  or  previously  in  Field  Museum 
that  throws  new  light  on  the  hypothetical  Middle  Chimu,  and  this  style  must 
continue  to  be  accepted  only  provisionally.  The  brownish  double  jar  from 
Chanchan  shown  in  Plate  VI,  Fig.  8,  approaches  what  I  conceive  to  be  Middle 
Chimu  modeling ;  and  so  perhaps  do  the  three  stirrup-mouths  from  Viru  already 
mentioned  (Plate  II,  Figs.  1-3). 

LATE  CHIMU  BLACKWARE    Plates  VII-X 

Late  Chimu  pottery  is  prevailingly  black,  but  not  exclusively  so;  just  as 
Proto-Chimu  is  overwhelmingly  red  and  white,  but  includes  a  small  proportion 
of  smoked  blackware.  On  the  basis  of  the  Uhle  and  other  collections,  the  fre- 
quency of  black  vessels  in  Proto-Chimu  is  about  3  per  cent,  in  Late  Chimu  about 
80.  If  all  vessels  made  were  considered  instead  of  those  deposited  in  graves,  the 
Late  Chimu  frequency  would  probably  be  somewhat  reduced  from  80  per  cent, 
since  purely  utilitarian  pieces  tend  to  run  to  untreated  red,  as  already  mentioned. 
The  indicated  history  of  Peruvian  blackware  from  its  Proto-Chimu  or  highland 
beginnings  has  been  reviewed  elsewhere.8 

Late  Chimu  blackware  constitutes  the  great  bulk  of  the  pottery  recovered 
from  the  Chanchan  cemeteries.  Dr.  Uhle  was  unquestionably  right  in  so  pro- 
nouncing,4 and  my  hesitating  qualification,5  based  on  the  collections  of  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  is  groundless.    It  is  true  that  there  is  a 


>  Ibid.,  Plate  Va. 
« Ibid.,  Plate  IVa. 

*  Kroeber,  Supe,  pp.  251-253. 

*  Uhle,  Ruinen. 

5  Kroeber,  Moche,  p.  193,  note  5. 


24  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

considerable  proportion  of  Proto-Chimu  ware  in  the  Bandelier  collection  from 
Chanchan  in  that  Museum.  Possibly  Bandelier  discovered  a  Proto-Chimu  site 
at  Chanchan  which  has  not  been  recognized  by  others.  It  is  more  likely,  however, 
that  his  principal  work  in  the  valley  having  been  done  at  Chanchan,  everything 
that  he  acquired  from  the  Trujillo  region  came  to  be  catalogued  simply  as  from 
Chanchan.  In  any  event,  the  history  of  his  collections  will  have  to  be  known  in 
more  detail  before  they  can  be  used  as  evidence  in  problems  of  type  and  period. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  inspection  of  the  cemeteries  reveals 
types,  like  the  steep-walled  plate-bowls  (Fig.  i),  that  do  not  often  enter  into 
collections.  The  Late  Chimu  collection  excavated  by  Uhle  at  Moche  site  B,1 
although  smaller  and  less  fine  in  quality  than  his  Proto-Chimu  collection,  has 
value  in  determining  the  occurrence  in  Late  Chimu  of  utilitarian  forms  that  are 
not  often  collected. 

As  to  the  more  decorative  pieces,  a  collection  seen  at  Mansiche  may  help. 
This  place  lies  on  the  way  from  Chanchan  to  Trujillo,  so  that  the  owner  of  the 
collection,  having  first  access  to  the  huaqueros  on  their  way  to  town,  presumably 
derived  all  his  specimens  from  Chanchan.    All  but  two  or  three  of  a  hundred 


Fig.  i. 
Late  Chimu  Blackware  Plate  Bowl  from  Chanchan. 

vessels  were  black;  one  was  red- white-black  Recuoid.  Of  the  ioo  black  vessels, 
50  were  stirrup-mouths;  6,  double  spouts;  12,  bridged  double  jars  and  figure  or 
head-and-spouts ;  the  remainder  were  mostly  handled  and  unhandled  jars. 

The  collection  secured  for  the  Museum  from  Sr.  Jacobs  is  also  pre-selected 
in  that  it  contains  no  utilitarian  or  plain  pieces;  but,  with  this  reservation  in 
mind,  it  is  worth  analyzing.  Besides  5  black  figurines,  it  contains,  after  deduc- 
tion of  specimens  remaining  in  Peru,  115  blackware  vessels  specifically  attributed 
to  Chanchan  and  all  obviously  of  Late  Chimu  type.  These  classify  into  primary 
types  as  follows  (Fig.  2) : — 

Stirrup-mouth 64 

Double-spout 4 

Head-and-spout 6 

Figure-and-spout 7 

Double  jars  with  bridge 12 

Jars  with  one  flat  handle 8 

Jars  without  handle 12 

Special  types  FV,  RFJ 2 

Aryballus o 

"5 
1  Ibid.,  204-205,  207,  Plate  6o,  6i,  62e,  f. 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— LATE  CHIMU  BLACKWARE 


25 


In  percentages,  stirrup-mouths,  56;  bridged  forms,  25;  jars,  17;  special  shapes, 
2.  These  frequencies  are  fairly  similar  to  those  of  the  Mansiche  collection.  The 
Uhle  blackware  collection  from  Moche  site  B  included  only  3  stirrup-mouths,  1 
double-spout,  2  double  jars,  and  2  aryballuses  in  a  total  of  59  pieces.  This  pro- 
portion suggests  that  the  Jacobs  and  Mansiche  collections  each  represent  a  cull 
from  a  total  of  500  to  1000  blackware  vessels  actually  encountered  by  the  hua- 
queros;  cookpots,  plates,  plain  jars,  and  broken  specimens  having  been  rejected. 

The  64  black  stirrup-mouth  vessels  comprise  9  having  a  human  figure  as 
body,  17  animals,  11  fruits,  13  simple  spheroid  or  lenticular  bodies,  14  similar 
bodies  with  relief  ornament. 

In  55  the  stirrup  is  symmetrical ;  in  9  it  springs  from  the  back  instead  of  the 
top  of  the  body  of  the  vessel,  so  that  the  mouth  divides  the  stirrup  into  two  seg- 


Fig.  2. 

Shapes  Occuring  in  Late  Chimu  and  Other  Styles.   SM,  Stirrup-mouth;  DS,  Double-spout;  FS,  Figure  and  Spout; 

HS,  Head  and  Spout;  DJ,  Double  Jar;  HJ,  Handled  Jar;  J,  Jar  without  Handle. 

ments  of  unequal  length.   The  latter  is  also  a  Proto-Chimu  device.1    Of  the  9,  7 
are  human  figures,  1  a  pair  of  monkeys,  1  an  animal,  perhaps  a  dog. 

Unless  the  body  is  circular,  the  plane  of  the  stirrup  is  usually  longitudinal, 
or  in  case  of  human  or  animal  figures,  in  line  with  the  fore-and-aft  axis.  There  are 
definite  exceptions:  1  pair  of  birds,  3  eels,  1  fruit,  2  (out  of  4)  gourds  with  stem, 
1  (of  2)  prone  men.  The  3  eels  are  somewhat  difficult  to  assign  because  their 
body  curves ;  the  stirrup  is  in  line  with  the  middle  of  the  body,  but  transverse  to 
the  head.  The  transverse  stirrup  is  not  found  or  is  quite  rare  in  Proto-Chimu: 
it  does  not  occur  in  the  Uhle  collection  from  Moche  sites  E  and  F.  The  fact  that 
both  gourds  and  prone  men  in  the  Jacobs  collection  have  the  stirrup  longitudinal 
as  well  as  transverse,  indicates  stylistic  instability,  a  more  or  less  conscious  ex- 
perimenting, such  as  is  characteristic  of  Late  Chimu.    Proto-Chimu  developed 

1  Shape  13  vs.  9-12:  Kboeber,  Moche,  p.  202. 


26  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

new  subjects  and  original  motives,  and  adhered  to  them.  Late  Chimu  was 
more  given  to  reshuffling  and  recombining  of  old  elements. 

Two  of  the  64  stirrup-mouth  vessels  have  lost  their  stirrups.  Of  the  62 
remaining,  47  have  one  small  climbing  or  rampant  monkey,  where  the  mouth 
rises  from  the  stirrup;  1  has  the  monkey  half-way  up  the  stirrup,  and  2  at  the 
base.  In  4  others  there  is  a  small  figure  at  the  foot  of  the  mouth:  twice  indis- 
tinguishable, once  a  bird,  once  a  step.  Eight  stirrups  are  plain,  like  Proto-Chimu 
ones.  The  frequency  of  ornamented  and  plain  stirrups  seems  to  be  about  the 
same  in  the  several  shapes  of  bodies. 

Other  non-Proto-Chimu  traits  occurring  in  Late  Chimu  are  flaring  mouths, 
flattened  sides  of  stirrup,  and  relief  on  the  stirrup.  A  flaring  mouth  appears  on 
4  of  the  62.  A  flaring  mouth  is  also  usual  on  the  handleless  jars  in  the  collection. 
It  is  also  an  Inca  characteristic,  and  occurs  in  much  late  ware  to  as  far  south  as 
Nazca. 

A  greater  or  less  flattening  or  squaring  of  the  stirrup  occurs  on  about  half 
the  Late  Chimu  jars.  Its  frequency,  compared  with  cylindrical  stirrup,  is;  men, 
0-8;  animals,  5-1 1;  fruits,  7-4;  plain,  7-6;  relief,  10-4;  total,  29-33.  The  lower 
frequency  of  squaring  on  men  and  animal  forms  is  expectable,  because  the  em- 
phasis of  the  modeling  in  these  is  on  the  body. 

Relief  on  the  side  of  the  squared  stirrup  appears  in  3  fruits,  4  plain  vessels, 
2  relief-ornamented. 

The  joint  of  mouth  with  stirrup  is  wedge-shaped  (the  mouth  penetrating 
the  cylinder  in  appearance)  28  times,  horizontally  transverse  34  times. 

The  17  animal  stirrup-mouths  classify  as  follows:  felines  (?),  4;  dogs  (?),  2; 
pair  of  monkeys,  1 ;  pair  of  birds,  1 ;  water  birds,  2 ;  frog,  1 ;  eels,  3 ;  shark,  1 ;  bal- 
loon fish,  1;  shrimp,  1.  The  last  four  seem  characteristic  of  Late  as  opposed  to 
Proto-Chimu. 

Of  the  double-spout  vessels,  3  are  plain,  1  has  relief.  All  4  have  a  foot, 
tapering  and  spreading  spouts  of  considerable  length,  and  a  humped  bridge. 
In  3  cases  the  bridge  is  flat,  in  1  cylindrical. 

Other  "bridged"  vessels  represent  either  men  or  animals,  as  follows:  double 
jars,  7-5;  figure-and-spout,  3-4;  head-and-spout,  0-6. 

The  double  jars  classify  as  follows:  both  bodies  flattened,  4;  both  globular, 
6;  both  cubical,  1 ;  one  cubical,  one  flattened,  1.  In  8  the  front  body  is  modeled 
into  a  man  or  animal:  in  4  it  bears  a  human  or  animal  figure. 

All  bridged  specimens  have  a  tapering  spout  except  3  double  jars.  In  all 
the  bridge  is  flat,  unornamented,  and  humped;  but  the  degree  of  arching  is  quite 
variable.  In  types  DS,  FS,  and  usually  HS,  the  spout  "spreads"  or  tilts;  in  the 
double  jars  it  mostly  stands  nearly  vertical.  Relief  ornament  occurs  on  the  1 
cubical-flattened  and  the  4  flattened  bodies  of  double  jars ;  and  on  2  figure-and- 
spouts. 

The  stirrup-mouth  and  bridged  vessels  include  19  of  a  human  figure,  to 
which  can  be  added  3  on  jars.  As  regards  body  posture  and  ornament,  these 
show  the  following  frequencies: — 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— LATE  CHIMU  BLACKWARE  2J 

Stirrup  Bridge 

SM  DJ,  FS,  J 
Legs 

Crossed 5  3 

Knees  up 2  1 

Not  clear —  4 

Standing  or  lying 2  3 

Hands 

On  stomach  or  breast 2  2 

On  thigh  or  lap      3  2 

To  mouth .  2  — 

Holding  an  object 1  4 

Not  classifiable 2  3 

Head-dress 

Conical  or  flat  round-topped 6  1 

Semi-lunar 1  2 

Two-horned —  4 

Low  cylinder 2  4 

Ears 

Plugs 2  3 

Unornamented 4  2 

Veiled 3  3 

Not  clear —  3 

These  frequencies  are  closer  to  the  Proto-Chimu  frequencies  for  posture  and 
ornament  than  were  the  Late  Chimu  indications  previously  available.1  They 
suggest  that  many  quite  specific  Chimu  customs  did  not  greatly  change  during 
the  periods  known. 

The  dozen  unhandled  jars  all  have  flaring  mouths,  and  are  all  modeled. 
They  include:  5  carnivores,  2  men,  1  recumbent  Pan's  pipe  player,  1  balsa  with 
two  men,  1  row  of  seals,  1  pelican,  1  fish — suggestive  of  the  usual  Chimu  range 
of  subjects.   Two  of  the  jars  also  bear  relief  decoration. 

The  jars  with  a  flat  or  ribbon  handle  are  less  extensively  modeled,  and  about 
half  the  time  have  the  mouth  or  spout  cylindrical  or  even  slightly  tapering  instead 
of  flaring. 

"Goose-flesh"  relief  stippling  occurs  on:  stirrup-mouths,  6;  double-spout,  1; 
bridge-and-spout,  7;  handleless  jars,  2;  handled  jars,  4;  total  20.  The  frequency 
would  perhaps  be  higher  on  plain  ware  and  cook  pots. 

There  is  one  example  each  in  the  Jacobs  Chanchan  blackware  collection  of 
two  special  types  that  appear  to  have  a  fairly  wide  occurrence  in  Peru,  but  whose 
origin  and  relations  are  not  known. 

The  "face  vase,"  FV  (Plate  IX,  Fig.  5)  is  represented  in  several  museums 
and  published  works.2  The  features,  modeling,  and  flaring  opening  suggest  a  late 
period.  The  retracted  lips  and  the  "plaiting"  of  the  hair  seem  uncharacteristic 
of  any  known  coast  style,  and  suggest  a  highland  origin  for  the  type. 

1  Kroeber,  Moche,  pp.  219-220. 

1  Lehmann,  Plate  88  (Cajamarca) ;  Fuhrmann,  Plate  47;  Putnam,  Plate  19,  Figs.  26  (Ferrefiafe),  27;  Selek, 
Plates  28,  29,  Figs.  3-6;  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plate  68e  (Chepen). 


28  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

The  "rotund  figure  jar,"  RFJ  (Plate  IX,  Fig.  4)  is  another  specific  shape 
which  is  well  recognized.1  It  occurs  always  in  polished  black,  with  globular 
belly,  a  spout  which  begins  as  a  human  face  and  ends  in  a  taper,  and  with  a  pair 
of  serrated  projections  rising  from  the  top  of  the  belly  so  as  to  flank  the  face. 
In  the  present  specimen,2  the  projections  are  prone  human  figures  stretching  their 
hands  toward  the  central  face.  In  other  instances  cats  replace  the  human  figures ; 
the  effect  almost  always  suggests  upraised  hands ;  but  I  have  not  found  a  speci- 
men in  which  hands  are  actually  represented.  The  spout  with  its  face  and  espe- 
cially the  cut  of  the  ears  in  this  type  are  similar  to  the  Tiahuanacoid  vessels 
found  by  Uhle  at  Moche  site  A.s  The  known  distribution  of  the  type  is  on  the 
coast  from  Lambayeque  to  Ancon.  Until  further  data  accumulate,  I  should  be 
inclined  to  construe  the  type  as  one  of  pre-Late  Chimu  origin  persisting  to  a 
Late  period. 

LATE  CHIMU  COLORED  WARE    Plate  VI 

A  few  Chanchan  pieces  in  the  Jacobs  collection  serve  to  show  the  substan- 
tial identity  of  Late  Chimu  colored  ware  and  blackware. 

Plate  VI,  Fig.  5.  Jar  in  shape  of  seated  woman  with  conical  cap.  Red  of 
Proto-Chimu  quality;  with  red  painted  pattern  of  continuous  scroll  and  striped 
triangles  (Plate  XIII,  Fig.  5). 

Plate  VI,  Fig.  6.  Red  stirrup-mouth,  with  a  little  purplish  black  painting. 
Upward:  a  foot,  globular  belly,  bird,  man  prone  on  the  bird,  plain  stirrup.  The 
general  design  is  similar  to  that  of  a  black  piece  in  the  collection. 

Plate  VI,  Fig.  7.  Whistling  figure-and-spout  jar  on  footed,  lenticular  body; 
seated  man.  Reddish  pink,  with  thin  black  scroll,  stripe  and  dot  pattern  some- 
what Cursive  in  manner.   This  design  is  shown  in  Plate  XIII,  Fig.  6. 

Plate  VI,  Fig.  8.  Double  whistling  jar:  front,  bird;  rear,  spondylus  shell 
and  spout ;  bridge  flat.  Buff  red,  with  stripes  and  rows  of  bars  in  thin  black.  The 
modeling  of  the  bird  suggests  that  of  the  condor  in  Baessler's  Plate  54,  Fig.  228, 
which  has  been  cited  as  perhaps  representative  of  a  Middle  Chimu  style,  but  is 
stiffen* 

No.  1 6995 1.  Gray  stirrup-mouth  of  monkey  seated  on  a  cubical  body.  The 
stirrup  bears  the  typical  Late  Chimu  small  monkey  at  the  joint.  There  is  a  little 
black  painting  in  pale  and  poorly  drawn  fines. 

LATE  CHIMU  FROM  BEACH  MOUNDS     Plates  VI,  XIII 

Seven  vessels  in  his  collection  were  stated  by  Sr.  Jacobs  to  have  been  taken 
from  the  small,  sandy  burial  mounds  lying  between  the  beach  and  the  main 


>Uhle,  Pachacamac,  Plate  8,  Fig.  10  (Lambayeque);  Kbobber,  Moche,  Plates  67I1  (Pacasmayo),  68d 
(Chepen);  Seler,  Plates  28,  Fig.  10  (Trujillo),  31,  Fig.  4  (Gran  Chimu,  Chanchan),  11,  Fig.  1  (Ancon,)  31,  Fig. 
3  (Cuzco?),  28,  Fig.  11,  29,  Fig.  12;  Putnam,  Plate  24,  Figs.  1-5;  Hrdlicka,  Plate  IV,  Fig.  1  (Chicama). 

*  The  finder  or  a  subsequent  owner,  as  Sr.  Jacobs  pointed  out,  has  mended  the  specimen  and  added  a  second 
head,  of  Late  Chimu  type,  at  the  rear  of  the  body  of  the  jar,  to  make  it  more  interesting.  Such  frauds  of  genuine 
parts  can  occasionally  be  met  with. 

*  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plates  64a,  65b. 
4  Kroeber,  Moche,  p.  223. 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— LATE  CHIMU,  TIAHUANACOID  STYLES  29 

cemeteries  of  Chanchan.  The  majority  are  Late  Chimu;  one  or  two  may  be  Pro- 
to-Chimu ;  none  shows  serious  influencing  by  other  styles.  It  thus  seems  that  these 
beach  burials  belong  culturally  with  those  of  Chanchan  generally. 

The  following  are  certainly  Late: — 

Plate  VI,  Fig.  2.  Blackware  jar  in  figure  of  an  erect  man,  the  top  of  his  head 
open;  he  holds  a  spondylus  shell  before  his  breast.  The  face  is  bordered  by  a 
braid  or  seam  of  a  head-cloth.  The  mouth  grins  and  reveals  the  teeth;  at  each 
corner  are  two  well-marked  curved  creases. 

Plate  VI,  Fig.  3.  Blackware  figure-and-spout  with  brick-shaped  body.  The 
seated  figure  wears  a  large,  vertical,  nearly  quadrangular  head-dress;  holds  a 
box-like  object;  and  stretches  its  legs.  The  flat  sides  of  the  body  of  the  vessel 
bear  pressed  relief,  shown  in  Plate  XIII,  Fig.  4. 

Plate  XIII,  Fig.  2.  Unpainted  gourd-jar  with  curved,  closed  neck  and  stem, 
vertical  spout,  and  flat,  arching  handle.  Light  brown  ware,  highly  polished  and 
well  modeled. 

Plate  XIII,  Fig.  3.  Unpainted  double-spout;  body  heart-shaped;  a  small 
panel  on  each  of  two  sides  carries  a  cat  figure  in  relief.  The  spouts  and  bridge  are 
of  Late  type.   The  ware  is  light  buff. 

No.  1 699 1 4.  Three-color  stirrup-mouth,  in  shape  of  a  seated  dog,  con- 
ventionally modeled.  The  spout  flares  at  the  mouth  and  bears  no  monkey.  The 
colors  are  whitish  gray,  purplish  red,  and  a  little  pale  black. 

The  following  may  be  earlier : — 

Plate  VI,  Fig.  1.  Blackware,  stirrup-mouth,  seated  man.  The  finish  is  hard 
and  suggests  an  example  of  the  occasional  Proto- Chimu  blackware. 

Plate  VI,  Fig.  4.  Stirrup-mouth,  seated  man,  or  dressed  monkey.  One 
knee  is  folded  under,  one  up  with  the  hands  clasped  on  it.  Reddish  brown,  with 
a  few  stripes  of  darker  brown. 

TIAHUANACOID  STYLES 

Tiahuanaco-influenced  ware  has  been  reported  in  the  Trujillo  region  only 
from  the  two  platforms  at  the  foot  of  the  top  pyramid  of  the  Huaca  del  Sol  at 
Moche,  as  discussed  above.  The  pottery  found  by  Uhle  on  the  southern  of  these 
platforms  (site  A)  has  been  described  by  him,1  and  reanalyzed  and  refigured  by 
myself.2  The  surface  sherds  which  I  found  on  the  northern  platform  include  sev- 
eral red  fragments  like  those  in  Plate  65  h,  i  of  my  Moche  monograph. 

Like  Uhle,  I  found  some  pure  Proto-Chimu  sherds  among  the  Tiahuanacoid 
fragments  on  the  platform;  but  not  many. 

The  nearest  affiliations  yet  known  for  the  Moche  Tiahuanacoid  ware  are  in 
the  Middle  Period  pottery  excavated  by  Uhle  at  Supe,  on  the  coast  between 
Trujillo  and  Lima,  but  considerably  nearer  the  latter  and  therefore  in  central 
Peru.  A  detailed  comparison  makes  this  relation  clear.  The  references  are  to 
plates  in  my  previously  cited  Moche  and  Supe  monographs  descriptive  of  the 
Uhle  collections. 


1  Uhle,  Ruinen. 

J  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plates  63-66. 


30  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

Goblets  in  relatively  pure  Tiahuanaco  style:  Moche,  63b-d;  Supe,  73b,  c,  e, 

g,  77  1.  m- 

Goblets  in  impure  Tiahuanaco  or  Epigonal  style:  Moche,  63a,  64 1;  Supe  73f, 
h,  i,  77n,  o. 

Bowls  of  goblet  type:  Moche,  63e,  Supe,  73d;  cf.  also  design  on  jar  72d. 

Jars  with  "scenes"  impressed  with  moulds:  Moche,  64b-d,  65a,  b;  Supe,  71c, 
d,  75C-e,  78b,  o. 

Man-shaped  jars:  Moche,  64e,  f,  66a-c;  Supe,  71b,  72b,  c. 

Same  with  scalloped  edge:  Moche,  64b;  Supe,  78 j. 

Round-headed  dolls  or  figurines:  Moche,  64g;  Supe,  76a-c. 

Painted  bowls  with  foot:  Moche,  66h;  Supe,  73k-o,  78k;  without  foot,  Supe, 
78d,  f. 

Pressed  bowls:  Moche,  with  foot,  6sf-i;  Supe,  without  foot,  75g-k,  78e,  n. 

Pressed  pots:  Moche,  65 j ;  Supe,  76 1. 

Modeled  cat  heads:  Moche,  66d,  e;  Supe,  77a-g. 

Black  on  white  painting,  somewhat  cursive:  Moche,  66d,  f,  g;  Supe,  77g. 
r  That  Middle  Supe  contains  certain  forms  not  found  in  Moche  Tiahuanacoid 
— double-spouts,  bird-shaped  head-and-spouts,  Chimu  figure  modeling — does 
not  impair  the  significance  of  the  resemblances,  especially  in  view  of  the  dis- 
tance separating  the  two  localities.  Moreover  the  Moche  recoveries  are  few  and 
mostly  fragmentary.  Had  we  three  hundred  whole  vessels  of  Moche  Tiahuana- 
coid as  of  Middle  Supe,  it  may  be  suspected  that  some  of  the  missing  forms  would 
turn  up. 

As  Middle  Supe  allies  closely  with  Middle  Ancon,1  and  this  with  the  "Tia- 
huanaco and  Epigonal"  of  Pachacamac,2  the  scanty  remains  of  the  Moche  style 
under  consideration  have  definite  relations  for  a  long  distance  southward  on  the 
coast.  Nothing  in  the  same  style  has  been  reported  from  north  of  Trujillo;  and 
the  sparseness  of  its  representation  among  the  thousands  of  specimens  taken  out 
of  the  ground  in  the  Trujillo  area  is  in  itself  notable.  Evidently  this  Central 
Coast  Tiahuanacoid  style  reached  the  Chimu  area  only  as  a  temporary  intrusion ; 
like  the  {Red- white-black  geometric  discussed  below. 

In  line  with  this  conclusion  is  the  fact  that  so  far  as  can  be  judged  from  the 
scanty  remains,  the  Moche  Tiahuanacoid  ware  is  unassociated  with  any  Chimu 
ware.  The  accompanying  Proto-Chimu  evidences  are  only  small  scattered  sherds ; 
and  as  for  Late  Chimu,  the  Tiahuanacoid  pieces  include  a  few  that  have  some 
resemblance  to  certain  Late  Chimu  types,  especially  jars,  but  all  the  most  charac- 
teristic Late  Chimu  traits  are  lacking.  Similarly,  Middle  Supe,  while  it  contains 
an  indubitable  Chimu  strain,  has  worked  this  over  and  eliminated  some  of  the 
most  typical  features:  modeled  figures  in  Proto-Chimu  attitudes,  for  instance, 
but  with  an  ordinary  jar-mouth  instead  of  stirrup.'  In  fact,  Moche  Tiahuanacoid, 
Middle  Supe,  and  Middle  Ancon  are  all  without  stirrup-mouths,  this  most  char- 

1  Strong,  Univ.  Calf.  PubL  Am.  Arch,  and  Ethn.,  Vol.  XXI,  Plates  44-47. 

*  Uhlk,  Pachacamac,  Plates  4-5. 

*  Kroebee,  Supe,  Plate  71L 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— TIAHUANACOID,  GEOMETRIC,  AND  CURSIVE  TRIPOD  STYLES       3 1 

acteristic  shape  evidently  having  penetrated  the  central  coast  only  at  a  late 
Period,  when  Late  Chimu  and  Inca  mixtures  spread  widely  in  Peru. 

Incidentally,  the  areally  limited  influence  of  Proto-Chimu  is  revealed  by  this 
absence  of  early  stirrup-mouths  in  the  south,  and  contrasts  with  the  aesthetic 
energy  of  the  style.  The  Proto-Chimu  culture  seems  to  have  been  as  concentrated 
geographically  as  it  was  intense  and  creative. 

By  contrast,  Late  Chimu  is  an  eclectic  combination  of  elements  inherited 
from  Proto-Chimu  and  taken  over  from  southern  and  perhaps  other  sources, 
even  Cuzco  style  elements  coming  to  be  admitted ;  original  features  are  as  good 
as  lacking ;  but  the  geographical  diffusion  is  great. 

That  the  Tiahuanacoid  style  at  Moche  falls  between  Proto  and  Late  Chimu 
in  time,  as  Uhle  concluded,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  in  view  of  the  foregoing. 
Whether  it  caused  or  marked  an  interruption  of  Chimu  style  and  culture,  or  rep- 
resents an  intrusion  that  coexisted  with  a  continuing  Chimu,  remains  to  be 
ascertained. 

THREE-COLOR  GEOMETRIC  STYLE    Plate  XIII 

A  Three-color  or  Red-white-black  geometric  style  occurs  at  Pachacamac 
Lima,  Ancon,  and  Chancay.1  It  has  certain  similarities  to  the  Three-color  Tex- 
tile style  farther  south  (Late  Chincha  and  lea),  with  which  it  is  probably  more  or 
less  connected  and  contemporary.  It  has  not  been  reported  north  of  Chancay 
except  for  three  jars  excavated  by  Uhle  at  Moche  site  C  below  Late  Chimu  graves.2 
These  three  Moche  pieces  are  painted  in  somewhat  more  rounded  and  hasty 
lines  than  typical  Three-color  pieces  from  central  Peru,  and  suggest  influencing 
by  the  cursive  style.3 

Field  Museum  possesses  one  jar  in  this  manner  attributed  to  Chimbote 
(Plate  XIII,  Fig.  i).  This  was  acquired  as  part  of  the  World's  Columbian  Ex- 
position collections  by  G.  A.  Dorsey.  It  has  a  pronounced  foot,  a  tapering  mouth, 
and  a  handle.  The  shape  is  not  like  any  known  vessel-shape  in  the  Three-color 
geometric  manner;  but  the  painted  design  shows  kinship,  as  does  the  coloring. 

CURSIVE  TRIPOD  STYLE  Plates  V,  XI 
The  only  Cursive  Tripod  style  specimens  with  data  are  fragments  found  by 
Uhle  on  the  Huaca  del  Sol  platform  A  at  Moche  in  association  with  Tiahuanacoid 
material.  The  painting  on  these  sherds  is  markedly  cursive  and  without  attempt 
at  realism.4  Sr.  Jij6n  y  Caamafio  pronounces  them  related  to  the  Tuncahuan 
style  of  Ecuador. 

Two  tripod  bowls  in  the  Peabody  Museum  from  Viru  or  Chicama5  have  a 
more  Peruvian  aspect,  especially  one  with  square  faces  painted  in  more  or  less 
"Epigonal"  manner.    On  the  other  hand,  these  faces  show  a  wide,  grinning 


1  See  the  description  and  review  in  Kroeber,  Chancay. 

2  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plate  62a-d. 

*  In  a  recent  letter  Dr.  Uhle  suggests  an  earlier  origin  for  the  Moche  Three-color  style  than  he  has  hitherto 
assumed:  perhaps  pre-Tiahuanaco;  and  suspects  influences  from  north  of  Peru. 

4  Kroeber,  Moche,  pp.  212-213,  Plate  63f-p. 

5  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plate  69a,  b. 


32  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

mouth  with  teeth,  which  is  a  Tuncahuan  feature,  and  occurs  also  in  pottery- 
taken  from  underground  tombs  in  the  Callejon  de  Huaylas  (upper  Santa  River) 
and  elsewhere  in  the  northern  interior  of  Peru  by  Tello  and  named  by  him 
North  Andean  Archaic.  This  ware  contains  a  notable  admixture  of  tripod  bowls.1 
A.  Hrdlicka2  has  also  published  illustrations  of  two  bowls  from  Chicama,  one 
tripod  and  the  other  pedestalled.  The  painting  on  neither  is  cursive ;  of  both  has 
definite  North  Andean  affiliations;  and  one  has  certain  "Epigonal"  or  Tiahuana- 
coid  suggestions. 

I  saw  and  secured  at  Trujillo  only  one  three-legged  bowl,  which  is  shown  in 
Plate  V,  Fig.  5.  The  provenience  is  undetermined.  The  painting  on  the  inside  of 
the  bowl  (Plate  XI,  Fig.  4)  is  not  very  distinctive,  and  scarcely  Cursive  in  manner. 

Another  indication  that  the  Cursive  Tripod  style  represents  a  highland 
influence  on  the  Chimu  coast  is  furnished  by  a  sherd  from  Huamachuco  at  the 
University  of  California  (Plate  XI,  Fig.  6).  The  painting  on  this — hasty  black 
on  light  buff — the  form  of  the  motives,  their  disposition,  the  texture  of  the  ware, 
and  the  suggested  shape  of  the  vessel,  all  agree  with  the  Moche  site  A  Cursive 
fragments. 

The  Ecuadorean,  Colombian,  and  Central  American  distribution  of  tripod 
bowls  is  well-known.  Three-legged  (or  four-legged)  vessels  have  been  found  in  a 
number  of  areas  in  Peru,  but  are  always  rare,  except  perhaps  in  the  northern 
interior.  More  data  on  the  Cusive  Tripod  style  therefore  promise  to  illuminate 
problems  wider  than  purely  Peruvian  ones.  For  the  Chimu  coast  area,  the 
association  with  Tiahuanacoid  at  Moche  site  A  places  the  Cursive  Tripod  style 
intrusion  or  influence  as  probably  between  Proto  and  Late  Chimu. 

CURSIVE  MODELED  STYLE    Plates  III,  IV,  XI 

Modeled  vessels  cursively  painted  are  represented  by  half  a  dozen  vessels  in 
the  Jacobs  collection  (Plates  III,  IV) ;  several  in  the  Museo  de  Arqueologia  Peru- 
ana ;  and  a  double  jar  figured  by  Baessler.3  These  vessels  are  all  bridged,  whist- 
ling jars  of  shapes  DJ,  FS,  HS.  The  modeled  figures  on  them  tend  to  be  small, 
modeled  with  some  detail,  and  are  usually  placed  on  double  or  multiple  cubical  or 
cylindrical  base  vessels.  There  are  no  stirrup  mouths  or  double  spouts.  The  ware 
is  of  a  dull  or  reddish  buff  color,  rather  fine-grained,  soft,  and  fragile ;  smooth,  but 
except  in  one  case  not  lustrous.  It  is  painted  decoratively  rather  than  with 
reference  to  the  modeling,  in  thin,  red,  and  blackish  lines  which  recall  the  cursive 
style  of  the  tripod  bowls.  On  the  other  hand,  the  modeling  carries  a  suggestion  of 
the  style  of  "Recuay"  (Catac)  in  the  smallness,  stiffness,  and  grouping  of  the 
figures.4 

The  lot  secured  is  from  the  Chanchan  cemeteries.  According  to  Sr.  Jacobs, 
they  are  all  from  the  lowest  levels,  in  some  cases  from  the  fifth  burial  reckoning 
downward.  One  encounters  much  loose  talk  in  Peru  about  stratifications,  gener- 
ally impossible  to  verify;  but  Sr.  Jacobs  is  intelligent  and  usually  exact  in  his 

»  Tello,  Introducddn,  Plate  IIIB. 

3  Smithsonian  Misc.  Coll.,  Vol.  LVI,  No.  i6,  191 1,  Plate  I. 

*  Vol.  IV,  Plate  156.  There  is  resemblance  also  to  the  Red-white-black  Recuoid  manner  discussed  below. 

*  Most  fully  illustrated  in  Seler,  Altertumer,  Plates  42-47.    See  also  Tello,  Introducci6n,  Plate  VB. 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— CURSIVE  MODELED  STYLE  23 

statements,  and  visited  the  cemeteries  often  enough  to  be  not  wholly  dependent 
on  the  statements  of  huaqueros,  who  mostly  lie  without  hesitation  if  it  will  en- 
hance the  price  of  their  wares.  There  is  thus  possibility  that  this  modeled  cur- 
sive ware  represents  a  distinctive  horizon  as  well  as  style. 

Of  the  seven  pieces  secured  (Plates  III,  IV)  all  are  modeled  whistling  jars 
with  a  flat  and  somewhat  humped  bridge,  and  a  single  long,  tapering  spout 
painted  with  a  few,  thin  horizontal  red  stripes.  The  larger  surfaces  of  the  vessels, 
both  flat  and  curved,  are  not  true  planes,  but  wobble.  The  modeling  goes  into 
some  detail,  and  is  neat,  but  the  figures  are  clumsy.  Hands  and  feet  with  one 
exception  show  five  digits  made  by  four  incisions.  The  eye  is  indicated  by  a 
raised  oval  band,  within  which  is  a  smaller  raised  oval.  Noses  are  prominent; 
mouths  wide,  but  thin ;  in  three  cases  out  of  five  faces  show  definite  creases  be- 
tween cheeks  and  mouth,  from  the  nostrils  down.  Painted  designs  are  chiefly  in 
black,  whose  application  was  thin  and  rapid,  the  narrow  lines  flowing.  Red  is 
used  much  less,  perhaps  because  the  ware  itself  is  often  reddish.  The  red  mostly 
forms  stripes  or  edges,  or  comes  on  faces  or  other  areas  accentuating  the  model- 
ing. The  black  pattern  tends  to  follow  the  red  stripings.  One  vessel  of  the  seven 
lacks  black ;  all  the  others  have  both  red  and  black  on  the  buff  background.  The 
designs  are  not  very  unlike  Proto-Chimu  painted  ones  in  their  motives  or  even 
like  those  pressed  in  relief  on  Late  Chimu  ones,  but  are  more  massed.  Also,  since 
the  bands  of  design  in  the  area  tend  to  be  different,  the  effect  of  the  cursive  paint- 
ing is  more  complex.  The  painting  on  three  of  the  vessels  is  shown  in  Plate  XI, 
Figs.  1-3.1  The  resemblance  to  Cursive  Tripod  designs  is  chiefly  in  the  rapid 
stroking ;  in  the  specific  forms  painted,  Cursive  Modeled  and  Cursive  Tripod  are 
not  specially  alike.  Nor  is  there  particular  resemblance  to  the  intricate  and  often 
"negative"  painting  which  most  vessels  in  the  advanced  "Recuay"  style  bear. 
The  effect  of  the  designs  as  drawn  out  in  Plate  XI  is  somewhat  textile-like,  and 
perhaps  even  more  reminiscent  of  wood  carving ;  but  as  seen  on  the  pottery  itself, 
the  designs  carry  no  suggestion  but  that  of  rapid,  trained,  somewhat  hasty 
brushwork. 

The  detailed  descriptions  of  the  vessels  follow : — 

Plates  III,  XI,  Figs.  2-2a.  Creamy  buff;  red  stripes  and  faces;  brownish 
black  pattern  in  thin  lines.  Body  brick-shaped;  three  figures  face  one  end,  the 
spout  is  near  the  other  end.  The  figures  are  of  men,  their  hands  joined  in  front 
of  their  bodies ;  the  middle  one  is  the  largest  and  wears  a  hat  in  the  form  of  three 
superimposed  and  successively  smaller  disks;  the  two  side  figures  wear  conical 
caps. 

Plate  IV,  Fig.  i .  Colors  as  in  Plate  III,  except  the  black  is  pale,  and  its  lines 
tend  to  be  either  straight  or  hooked.  The  body  of  the  vessel  represents  a  boat- 
shaped  rush  raft  or  balsa.  This  is  set  on  a  foot  or  pedestal.  From  the  balsa  rises  a 
small  human  figure;  farther  aft,  a  spout  connected  with  the  figure  by  the  usual 


1  Plate  XI,  Fig.  1  from  side  of  brick-shaped  base,  1a  from  front  and  ib  from  rear  of  upper  side  of  base,  of 
vessel  shown  in  Plate  IV,  Fig.  2;  Plate  XI,  Fig.  2  from  side  of  base,  2a  from  ends  and  top  of  base  of  Plate  III; 
Plate  XI,  Fig.  3  from  end,  3a  and  3b  from  side  of  cylinder  of  Plate  IV,  Fig.  3  (3a  and  3b  are  continuous,  the  lowest 
red  stripe  of  3a  being  also  the  top  stripe  of  3b). 


34  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

"bridge" ;  a  second  human  figure  clings  to  the  stern.  The  spout  tapers  less  than  in 
the  other  specimens  of  this  group,  and  is  of  thicker  ware.  Under  the  bridge,  seven 
fishes  and  perhaps  birds  are  indicated  in  relief — they  are  the  catch  of  the  pair  of 
navigators.  Both  of  these  wear  conical  caps,  somewhat  convex  toward  the  front. 
Their  eyes  and  chin  areas  are  painted  black;  their  hands  are  four-fingered.  This 
specimen  is  aberrant  from  the  type  of  the  preceding  in  some  details. 

Plates  IV,  Fig.  2;  XI,  Figs.  i-ib.  The  buff  ground  is  yellowish;  dark  red 
appears  in  stripes  and  in  masses  on  the  dress  of  the  figure;  the  black  is  pale  and 
applied  in  thin,  flowing  lines.  The  body  of  the  vessel  consists  of  two  approximate 
cubes,  one  bearing  the  figure,  the  other  the  spout.  The  figure  is  that  of  a  man 
seated  with  his  knees  up,  his  hands  on  his  knees  under  a  cape  or  poncho;  at  his 
back  are  what  look  like  a  cushion  and  the  back  of  a  seat  or  throne.  His  cap  is  a 
low  cylinder;  he  wears  large  ear-disks. 

Plates  IV,  Fig.  3;  XI,  Figs.  3~3b.  Ground,  reddish  buff;  stripes,  dark  red; 
designs,  grayish  black.  Body  of  vessel,  two  lying  cylinders ;  a  figure  stands  on  one, 
the  spout  rises  from  the  other.  The  figure  is  that  of  a  standing  man,  with  a 
cylindrical  cap  from  which  a  cloth  falls  over  the  back  of  his  neck.  The  right  hand 
is  at  the  shoulder;  the  left,  at  the  hip.   The  face  is  painted  red. 

Plate  IV,  Fig.  4.  Ground,  reddish  buff;  red,  dark,  in  stripes,  or  as  masses 
on  face  or  belly  of  the  figure;  black,  brownish,  applied  in  rather  broad  cursive 
strokes.  The  body  of  the  vessel  is  complicated,  consisting  of  eight  more  or 
less  globular  chambers.  These  are  disposed  in  four  pairs:  each  pair  has  a  some- 
what conical  chamber  on  top  of  a  nearly  spherical  one;  the  lower  of  each  pair  is 
connected  with  the  adjacent  ones  by  a  tube.  On  one  of  the  pairs  is  the  figure,  on 
the  opposite  one  the  spout;  the  bridge  between  the  two  therefore  diagonally 
bisects  the  square  formed  by  the  pairs  of  globular  chambers.  The  figure  is  that 
of  a  man  on  a  seat,  his  hands  on  his  knees ;  he  wears  a  conical  cap. 

Plate  IV,  Fig.  5.  This  is  the  crudest  and  most  divergent  piece  in  the  group. 
The  form  is  that  of  a  dog  or  other  quadruped.  The  spout  rises  from  the  animal's 
back,  but  the  bridge  leads  to  the  head,  and  not  to  a  superimposed  small  figure  as 
in  the  previous  specimens.  The  ground  color  is  pale  buff;  legs,  head,  and  back  are 
red ;  pattern  is  poorly  done  in  thin  black  lines.  Both  modeling  and  painting  are 
inferior,  but  the  ware  is  fairly  good  in  quality. 

Plate  rV,  Fig.  6.  Yellowish  buff,  painted  with  dark  red  lines ;  the  bird's  bill 
is  also  red.  The  body  of  the  vessel  is  a  recumbent  quadruped,  curled  on  itself: 
probably  a  llama,  possibly  a  dog,  and  apparently  haltered.  From  it  arise  the 
usual  figure,  bridge,  and  spout,  the  figure  being  that  of  a  large-billed  bird.  All 
the  modeling  is  only  mediocre. 

The  affiliations  of  this  style  will  be  discussed  in  connection  with  those  of  the 
following  one. 

RED-WHITE-BLACK  RECUOID  STYLE    Plate  V 

Of  a  style  which  I  provisionally  call  Red-white-black  Recuoid,  there  are 
four  examples  in  the  Jacobs  collection,  all  attributed  to  Chanchan;  another  was 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— RED-WHITE-BLACK  RECUOID  STYLE  35 

presented  by  Mr.  Preston  Locke;  and  others  were  seen.  These  vessels  bear  a 
resemblance  to  the  Cursive  Modeled  ones  in  being  whistling  double  or  figure-and- 
spout  jars  which  carry  bridges  and  small  figures.  The  modeling,  while  less  neat 
than  in  the  Cursive  style,  is  almost  equally  elaborate  and  representative  in 
interest ;  and  the  painting  is  much  brighter,  the  red  especially  being  vivid.  The 
painting  also  tends  to  conform  to  the  modeling,  or  to  accentuate  it,  instead  of 
being  a  separate  decorative  device  applied  to  the  unmodeled  surfaces  of  the  vessel. 

The  white  in  the  Red-white-black  Recuoid  style  tends  to  be  grayish,  but  is 
not  a  reddish  or  creamy  buff  like  the  background  of  the  Cursive  style.  The  red 
is  a  dark  or  impure  vermilion,  and  if  unfired  would  suggest  cinnabar  pigment 
having  been  used.  The  black  is  sooty.  The  prevalent  color  is  red.  The  black  is 
mostly  painted  over  the  red  or  outlines  it.  The  spouts  are  red  with  a  black  mouth 
and  usually  with  a  few  transverse  black  lines.  The  spouts  taper;  the  bridges  are 
flat  and  slightly  arched. 

Plate  V,  Fig.  i  is  a  figure- and-spout  jar  (type  FS,  as  above).  The  front 
half  is  a  globe  on  which  a  man  sits  cross-legged,  his  hands  down.  He  wears  a 
truncated  conical  cap ;  his  ears  are  veiled.  The  rear  half  represents  a  spondylus 
shell,  from  which  rises  the  spout.  There  is  a  resemblance  to  the  Cursive 
Modeled  piece  illustrated  by  Baessler.1 

The  specimen  illustrated  in  Plate  V,  Fig.  2,  is  the  best  in  the  lot,  the  white 
being  purer,  and  both  texture  and  modeling  finer.  It  is  a  figure-and-spout  jar. 
The  brick-shaped  body  rests  on  a  foot  and  bears  a  step  or  throne.  Before  this 
stands  a  male  figure  holding  a  cap  and  wearing  large  ear-plugs.  Its  head-dress  is 
broken.  In  outline  and  proportions  this  vessel  is  close  to  the  Cursive  Modeled  ones. 

The  vessel  in  Plate  V,  Fig.  3  is  reminiscent  of  the  Cursive  Modeled  style 
balsa  (Plate  IV,  Fig.  1),  even  to  being  set  on  a  pedestal  and  having  one  figure 
forward  on  the  boat  and  the  second  clinging  to  the  stern.  But  the  present  jar  is  a 
double-spout,  transversely  set,  and  the  bridge  connecting  the  spouts  is  not  flat, 
but  like  a  beam  on  edge,  with  its  top  serrated.  Both  the  human  figures  are 
roughly  modeled.  They  wear  cylindrical  caps  and  large  ear-plugs.  The  forward 
one  kneels.  This  is  the  only  vessel  of  the  group  that  does  not  whistle. 

The  object  in  Plate  V,  Fig.  4  is  a  figure-and-spout  on  a  lenticular  body  set  on 
a  foot.  The  figure  is  a  two-headed  owl,  or  perhaps  two  owls  whose  bodies  are 
merged. 

No.  169945,  whose  surface  is  much  decayed,  is  similar  in  plan  to  the  last. 
The  figure  is  that  of  a  man  sitting  cross-legged,  holding  a  cup,  and  wearing  large 
ear-plugs  and  a  head-dress  with  two  horns  or  knobs.  The  white  is  replaced  in  this 
piece  by  a  dark  buff. 

The  affinities  of  this  style  are  several.  The  resemblance  to  Cursive  Modeled 
has  already  been  mentioned.  It  is  intensified  by  the  fact  that  no  stirrup-mouths 
have  been  encountered  in  either  style. 

A  strong  fundamental  resemblance  to  Late  Chimu  is  also  obvious.  If  the 
present  vessels  had  been  executed  in  blackware,  they  would  pass  as  Late  Chimu. 

1  Vol.  IV,  Plate  156. 


36  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

There  are  no  specific  Proto-Chimu  resemblances.  The  specimen  in  Plate  V, 
Fig.  1,  for  instance,  could  not  be  Proto-Chimu  even  if  painted  differently.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  object  in  Plate  V,  Fig.  3 :  the  double-spout,  its  transverse  set- 
ting, the  serrated  bridge  on  edge,  are  florid  Late  Chimu. 

A  third  resemblance  is  to  a  Recuay  style.  This  is  not  the  classical  or  "A" 
style  of  Recuay  as  represented  by  the  collection  from  Catac  in  Berlin,1  with 
elaborate  linear,  often  negative  painting,  groups  of  figures,  and  short  horizontal 
spouts  emerging  from  the  figures  or  fronts  of  the  vessels.  The  resemblance  is  to 
another  style,  "Recuay  B,"  appearing  in  several  specimens  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,  the  Peabody  Museum,  and  perhaps  elsewhere. 
The  Recuay  B  style  is  characterized  by  representative  effects  in  modeling  such  as 
of  men  leading  llamas;  is  detailed,  but  clumsy  in  execution;  and  uses  color  in 
combination  with  modeling  rather  than  as  separate  ornament.  Its  colors  are  red, 
white,  and  black,  sometimes  with  and  sometimes  without  yellow ;  and  the  red  is 
vivid.  The  affinities  to  the  present  lot  from  Trujillo  are  evident  and  seem  to 
justify  the  tentative  designation  Red-white-black  Recuoid  for  the  style  repre- 
sented by  this  lot. 

The  classic  or  A  style  of  Recuay,  on  the  other  hand,  is  closer  to  the  Chanchan 
Cursive  Modeled,  both  in  the  shapes  of  its  figures  and  in  the  lack  of  integration, 
logically  at  least,  of  its  modeling  and  painting.  Both  also  depart  in  the  shape  of 
the  chambers  of  their  vessels  from  Late  Chimu  and  Red-white-black  Recuoid. 

These  relations  suggest  Cursive  Modeled  as  earlier  and  Red-white-black 
Recuoid  as  later;  especially  as  Tello2  considers  Recuay  A  as  old.  Red- white- 
black  Recuoid  may  thus  be  considered  a  Late  Chimu  variant  under  highland 
influences.8 

THE  CHAVIN  STYLE     Plate  XII 

The  Chavin  style  of  north  Peruvian  coast  pottery  was  so  named  by  Dr.  Tello 
on  the  basis  of  a  small  number  of  distinctive  pieces,  mostly  now  in  the  Museo  de 
Arqueologia  Peruana,  though  a  few  remain  in  private  hands.  I  have  not  seen  a 
complete  specimen  definitively  of  this  type  in  the  United  States.  The  style  has 
scarcely  attracted  the  attention  which  its  importance  merits.  I  therefore  repub- 
lish in  Plate  XII  drawings  from  some  of  Tello's  photographic  illustrations.4 

The  pottery  vessels  in  this  style  are  all  attributed  to  Chicama,  the  coast 
valley  next  north  of  Trujillo.  The  style,  however,  occurs  in  its  most  developed 
and  impressive  form  in  stone  sculpture  found  by  Dr.  Tello  in  19 19  at  and  near 
Chavin  de  Huantar,  high  up  in  the  northern  interior  east  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
and  west  of  the  upper  Marafion.  Chavin  has  yielded  two  styles  of  sculpture, 
which  although  related  should  be  differentiated. 

1  Seles,  Altertumer,  Plates  42-47.    The  Recuay  B  style  is  also  affiliated  directly  or  indirectly  with  the  Inca. 
1  Introducci6n,  Plate  5B:  Archaic,  according  to  the  legend. 

*  Whether  Recuay  was  a  focus  of  these  influences  or  only  an  incidental  point  in  their  distribution  is  another 
problem.  Recuay  lies  near  the  head  of  the  Santa  river,  at  a  considerable  elevation.  The  Santa  is  the  longest  and 
probably  largest  river  on  the  coast  of  Peru.  It  flows  parallel  with  the  coast  in  the  Callejon  de  Huaylas  between 
the  White  and  the  Black  Cordillera,  then  breaks  through  the  latter  to  reach  the  sea  near  Chimbote.  Recuay 
thus  lies  considerably  south  of  Trujillo. 

*  Plate  XII,  Fig.  1  of  this  publication:  Tello,  Intr.,  Plate  VIII;  Tello,  Wira-Kocha,  in  Inca,  Vol.  I,  1923. 
p.  268,  Fig.  67;XII,Fig.  2:  Intr.,  Plate  X;  Inca,  Fig.  61;  XII,  Fig.  3:  Intr.,  Plate  XI;  XII,  Fig.  4:  Intr.,  Plate  XII, 
See  also,  Intr.,  Plate  IX,  Inca,  Fig.  76;  and  Inca,  Figs.  64,  65,  the  last  two  being  incised  jaguar-head  stirrup-mouths. 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— THE  CHAVIN  STYLE  37 

Chavin  N. — The  first  Chavin  style  is  that  of  the  famous  relief  monolith  of 
Raimondi,  long  ago  brought  to  Lima,  now  in  the  Museo  Nacional  de  Historia, 
and  repeatedly  illustrated  and  copied.  Joyce,  Uhle,  and  others  have  recognized 
that  the  style  of  this  carving,  although  distinctive,  bears  definite  relationship 
to  the  (Proto-)  Nazca  style  of  pottery  painting,  especially  in  its  more  flamboyant 
phase, — Tello's  Pre-Nazca.  On  account  of  this  resemblance  to  Nazca,  the  present 
style  may  be  tentatively  designated  Chavin  N. 

Chavin  M. — The  second  style  is  the  discovery  of  Tello,  and  is  represented 
by  a  number  of  original  stelae  and  reliefs,  or  rubbings  and  facsimile  drawings,  in 
the  museum  of  the  Universidad  Mayor  de  San  Marcos  in  Lima.1  This  style 
is  notable  for  its  aesthetic  value,  which  probably  surpasses  anything  known  from 
Peru,  including  even  the  monuments  at  Tiahuanaco;  and  further  for  the  resem- 
blance which  its  lines  bear  to  those  of  Maya  sculpture.  How  far  this  resemblance 
is  specific  and  therefore  historically  significant  of  connection;  and  how  far  it  is 
due  to  the  greater  liberation  and  power  of  the  Chavin  sculptors  compared  with 
other  Peruvians,  and  thus  has  aesthetic  instead  of  historic  meaning,  is  a  problem 
that  will  require  further  analysis.  The  superficial  similarity  to  Maya  art,  how- 
ever, makes  the  provisional  designation  of  this  style  as  Chavin  M  conveniently 
mnemonic. 

Dr.  Tello  has  analyzed  many  of  the  motives  of  Chavin  M  sculpture  and 
shows  them  to  gravitate  around  the  concept  of  a  feline  god,  probably  the  jaguar. 
This  concept  reappears,  with  much  the  same  handling  of  the  motives,  in  the 
Chavin  style  pottery  vessels  from  Chicama.  These,  however,  are  all  stirrup-mouths, 
and  hence  of  a  shape  which,  so  far  as  the  evidence  goes,  was  restricted  to  the  north- 
ern coast  region  until  a  relatively  late  time.  Furthermore,  vessels  of  this  Chicama 
style  have  not  yet  been  reported  from  Chavin  or  elsewhere  in  the  Sierra  area. 
In  fact,  Dr.  Tello  informs  me  that  he  found  little  pottery  at  Chavin  itself,  and 
that  rather  crude  and  of  archaic  appearance. 

It  is  accordingly  possible  that  the  pottery  ware  under  consideration  repre- 
sents a  variation  of  the  ingrained  Chimu  coast  style  under  influences  from  the 
interior;  or  that  the  vessels  found  at  Chicama  were  actual  imports  from  an  in- 
terior source  of  manufacture  which  has  not  yet  been  discovered.  In  the  latter 
case,  the  stirrup-mouth  shape  and  technology  of  the  ware  would  either  have  been 
devised  on  the  coast  and  introduced  into  the  highland  Chavin  culture,  or  the 
stirrup-mouth  ware  would  have  originated  in  the  sierra  and  the  Chimu  coast 
pottery  art  be  largely  a  derivative.  Dr.  Tello  seems  to  incline  to  the  last  view; 
but  I  hesitate  to  derive  the  stirrup-mouth,  which  is  so  abundant  in  all  periods  on 
the  coast,  from  a  source  in  the  interior,  where  stirrup-mouths  are  scarce  or  lacking. 
It  is  evident  that  the  data  are  not  in  hand  for  a  definitive  choice  between  the 
alternative  interpretations.  For  one  thing,  the  proveniences  of  the  pottery 
vessels  in  question  are  known  only  by  attribution. 


1  Cf.  Tello,  Wira-Kocha,  in  Inca,  Vol.  I,  1923,  stela,  Plate  I  (p.  274)  and  Fig.  72  (also  Introducci6n,  Plate 
VII);  "lanzon,"  Inca,  Plates  III,  IV;  relief,  Inca,  Fig.  74;  relief  from  Yauya  (in  somewhat  stiffer  style),  Plate 
II;  relief,  Intr.,  Plate  VI. — The  Raimondi  stone  in  the  "N"  style  is  shown  in  Inca,  Fig.  77. 


38 


ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 


The  age  of  this  Chavin  style  coast  pottery,  however,  can  be  approximately 
fixed.  Grave  associations  with  Proto-Chimu  show  it  to  be  early.  The  key 
material  in  this  regard  as  in  others  is  the  Uhle  collection  from  Moche,  which  has 
exact  site  and  grave  proveniences.  Uhle's  graves  12  and  10  of  his  site  F.,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Huaca  de  la  Luna,  each  contained  a  partial  vessel  painted  and  incised 
with  designs  in  Chavin  manner,  which  are  reproduced  in  Figs.  3  and  4.1  That 
both  pieces  are  incised,  whereas  only  four  others2  of  the  six-hundred  in  the  Uhle 
collections  carry  incisions,  is  probably  also  significant.  As  both  specimens 
occurred  in  graves  whose  content,  like  that  of  the  thirty  odd  other  graves 


Fig.  3. 

Chavin  Style  Incised  and  Painted  Design  on  a  Stirrup-mouth  from  Moche.   a  Front  View,  6  Side  View. 


carefully  excavated  by  Uhle  in  the  same  cemetery,  is  pure  Proto-Chimu,  the 
contemporaneity  of  the  Proto-Chimu  and  Chavin  styles,  or  to  be  more  exact, 
at  least  their  chronological  overlapping,  is  certain. 

This  time  association,  considered  in  addition  to  the  intrinsic  similarities  of 
the  wares,  makes  it  clear  that  there  existed  intimate  formative  relations  or  inter- 
relations between  the  Proto-Chimu  and  Chavin  styles,  which  should  become 
more  evident  as  soon  as  a  pure  Chavin  style  cemetery  is  discovered  and  its  data 
recorded,  especially  as  to  grave  associations.    It  is  conceivable  that  certain  fea- 


1  Figure  3:  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plate  57J,  specimen  F12-2980,  Fig.  4,  ibid.,  Plate  57I,  Fio-2896.  There  is  a 
similar  piece  shown  by  Baessler  in  his  Plate  IV,  Fig.  14  (Part  4).  There  are  Chavin  suggestions  also  in  Kroeber, 
Moche,  Plates  55c  55I1,  56I1  (blackware),  56  j  (blackware,  incised). 

*  One  of  them  the  piece  in  Plate  56J  just  mentioned. 


TYPES  AND  STYLES— THE  CHAVIN  STYLE 


39 


tures  heretofore  considered  characteristic  of  Proto-Chimu  will  then  prove  to  be 
of  alien  source,  whereas  others  will  remain  as  of  local  origin.  When  it  is  con- 
sidered that  Proto-Chimu  ornament  consists  of  several  essentially  distinct  lines 
or  aspects — realistic  figure  modeling,  depictive  painting,  depictive  relief,  scroll 
and  fret  painting — its  resolution  into  two  or  more  origins  should  not  appear 
improbable. 


Fig.  4. 
Chavin  Style  Incised  and  Painted  Design  on  a  Fragment  from  Moche. 


CHRONOLOGY 

The  factor  of  time  implied  by  the  foregoing  styles  merits  attention.  When 
some  eight  or  nine  distinguishable  styles  or  stylistic  strains  are  found  in  a  few 
smallish  valleys,  their  time  relations  contain  some  promise  of  helping  to  unravel 
culture  sequences,  even  though  these  relations  promise  to  be  complex  through 
the  injection  of  spatial  factors,  namely,  the  import  or  influence  of  foreign  styles 
as  discussed  in  the  foregoing  pages. 

THE  UHLE  SCHEME 

M.  Uhle1  has  definitely  established  Proto-Chimu  as  early  and  (Late)  Chimu 
as  late,  with  Tiahuanacoid  falling  between,  and  Three-color  Geometric  at  least 
earlier  than  Late  Chimu.  In  fact,  he  separates  Tiahuanacoid  into  Tiahuanaco 
and  post-Tiahuanaco,  besides  non-Tiahuanaco  which  includes  Cursive  Tripod. 
I  have  previously  recognized  the  distinctness  of  the  stylistic  strains  represented 
in  this  subdivision,  while  doubting  their  chronological  separateness  at  Trujillo.2 
Three-color  Geometric  I  was  inclined  to  place  as  later  than  Tiahuanacoid  on 
account  of  the  evident  sequence  of  corresponding  styles  on  the  central  Peruvian 
coast.8  Uhle,  however,  in  a  recent  letter  expresses  the  conviction  that  the  Moche 
Three-color  Geometric  contains  an  early  element  and  may  be  pre-Tiahuanacoid. 

THE  HRDLICKA  SCHEME 

A.  Hrdlicka,4  in  an  account  of  explorations  made  some  years  ago  on  the 
coast  of  central  and  northern  Peru,  comes  to  the  following  conclusions  as 
regards  Chicama,  the  valley  adjoining  that  of  Trujillo  on  the  north. 

(i)  The  earliest  population,  which  lived  "not  over  some  centuries  before  the 
arrival  of  the  whites,"  was  of  the  moderate-statured,  brachycephalic  race;  that 
is,  the  prevailing  one  on  the  Peruvian  coast  between  Pacasmayo  and  Pisco,  or 
farther,  and  which  is  fundamentally  of  the  same  type  as  a  large  portion  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Ecuador,  Colombia,  Central  America,  and  Yucatan.  These  people 
did  not  deform  the  head  beyond  some  accidental  occipital  flattening.  They 
lived  chiefly  near  the  shore  and  buried  prevailingly  in  huacas  which  are  nothing 
but  "construction  cemeteries"  or  burial  mounds  of  adobe  bricks  and  earth. 
They  had  little  metal,  and  their  pottery  was  simple  and  sombre. 

(2)  These  people  were  followed  by  others  of  the  same  fundamental  physical 
type,  but  of  modified  habits,  shown  in  part  by  the  pronounced  occipital  head- 
flattenings,  due  to  cradle-boards,  and  especially  by  "the  frequent  practice  of 
intentional  fronto-occipital  skull  deformation."    Their  burials  were  mostly  in 


1  Ruinen. 

*  Moche,  pp.  213-215. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  214. 

4  Some  Results  of  Recent  Anthropological  Exploration  in  Peru.    Smithsonian  Miscell.  Coll.,  Vol.  LVI, 
No.  16,  1911,  pp.  !-l6. 

40 


CHRONOLOGY  4 1 

larger  cemeteries  and  generally  more  inland;  they  contain  more  copper  and 
bronze  and  more  varied  pottery. 

(3)  Finally,  "at  about  the  time  of  the  greatest  prevalence  of  the  deformed 
crania"  of  the  preceding  type,  "there  appear  individual  elements  of  the  doli- 
chocephalic type  "..."  individuals,  or  little  groups  of  burials,"  which  "are  not 
local  developments,  for  intermediary  cranial  forms,  which  in  that  case  would  be 
numerous,  are  lacking."  These  heads  are  undeformed  or  merely  accidentally 
flattened  in  the  occiput.  The  pottery  with  these  burials  contains  especially  bowls 
with  large,  flaring,  convex  borders. 

Hrdlicka's  Plates  1,3,  and  4,  which  are  referred  to  the  earliest  population, 
show  respectively  a  three-legged  bowl  and  a  pedestal  bowl  of  Cursive  Tripod 
affiliations;  two  figurines;  the  head  of  a  black  jar  of  RFJ  shape  and  a  modeled 
cat-head  similar  to  one  found  by  Uhle  in  Tiahuanacoid  association.1  With  the 
exception  perhaps  of  the  figurines,  this  material  is  all  post-Proto-Chimu. 

His  Plate  2,  referred  to  the  last  population,  shows  two  views  of  a  Proto- 
Chimu  flaring  bowl  of  type  3.2 

There  is  evidently  an  association  between  the  physical  type  and  the  culture 
which  Hrdlicka  ascribes  to  his  population  1,  and  the  same  for  population  3; 
only  3  is  surely  the  earlier.  Its  pottery  is  Proto-Chimu,  and  undeformed  and 
relatively  long  skulls  were  consistently  found  by  Uhle  in  his  Proto-Chimu  graves 
at  Moche  site  F.  To  complement,  the  pottery  of  Hrdlicka's  population  1  is 
post-Proto-Chimu,  and  its  moderate  occipital  deformation  is  normal  in  the  late 
cemeteries  of  Chanchan. 

As  to  Hrdlicka's  population  2,  with  pronounced  frontal  flattening,  skulls  of 
this  form  are  characteristic  of  the  Nazca  culture  and  its  varieties  in  southern 
Peru,  but  seem  not  to  have  been  otherwise  reported  from  the  northern  coast. 
The  determination  of  the  type  of  culture  associated  with  them  would  be  im- 
portant. 

INFERENCES  AND  PROBLEMS 

Within  the  frame  of  the  four  general  eras  of  pre-Columbian  Peru  which  I 
have  previously  outlined — pre-Tiahuanaco,  Tiahuanacoid,  pre-Inca,  and  Inca — 
the  ceramic  styles  of  the  Trujillo  area  may  be  disposed  as  follows: — 

Proto-Chimu  and  Chavin  are  more  or  less  contemporary  and  pre-Tiahuanaco. 

Cursive  Tripod  and  Modeled,  Three-color  Geometric,  Tiahuanacoid,  and  the 
problematical  Middle  Chimu  are  presumably  Tiahuanacoid  and  also  pre-Inca. 
Their  more  precise  interrelations  remain  to  be  ascertained. 

Late  Chimu  probably  began  its  career  in  the  pre-Inca  era,  and  continued 
through  Inca  into  colonial  times.  Red-white-black  Recuoid  is  likely  to  be  a 
contemporary  at  least  of  the  earlier  Late  Chimu. 

In  the  pre-Tiahuanaco  era  the  traceable  evidences  for  relations  of  the  Tru- 
jillo coast  with  other  areas  are  only  with  the  northern  interior. 

In  the  Tiahuanacoid  and  pre-Inca  eras  relations  extended  much  farther. 
There  are  indications  of  southern  coast  influences,  both  earlier  such  as  Nazca- 

1  Kroeber,  Moche,  Plate  66e. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  201 ;  and  ante. 


42  ANCIENT  POTTERY  FROM  TRUJILLO 

derived  shapes  in  Cursive  Modeled,  and  later  in  Three-color  Geometric;  of 
southern  highland  influences  in  Tiahuanacoid ;  of  northern  interior  and  Ecua- 
dorean  influences  in  Cursive  Tripod  and  Cursive  Modeled  and  perhaps  Three- 
color  Geometric.  There  is  as  yet  no  clear  indication  of  influences  from  the  coast 
north  of  Trujillo. 

In  the  later  pre-Inca  and  Inca  eras  the  last-mentioned  extraneous  influences 
persisted  in  varying  degree,  largely  as  impulses  that  had  become  established  in 
the  Trujillo  area;  the  coast  to  the  north  around  Lambayeque  probably  contrib- 
uted tendencies  toward  blackware,  and  stylistic  floridity  and  eclecticism;  and 
certain  Inca  traits  began  to  be  adopted.  The  resultant  composite  style  in  turn 
was  carried,  or  vessels  made  in  it  were  transported,  over  the  whole  length  of  the 
coast  of  Peru  and  more  or  less  into  the  interior. 

Until  this  late  period,  on  the  other  hand,  the  influence  of  the  Trujillo  coast 
area  styles  was  much  less  expansive  and  apparently  limited  chiefly  to  the  north- 
ern interior  as  far  as  Chavin  and  Recuay.  Even  there,  influencing  was  reciprocal, 
and  the  relative  activity  of  coast  and  interior  awaits  determination. 

The  Proto-Chimu  and  Chavin  styles  not  only  are  apparently  the  earliest, 
but  rank  aesthetically  highest ;  and  the  antecedents  of  both  are  unknown.  With 
the  passage  of  time  more  and  more  influences  from  and  to  a  distance  become 
discernible.  This  difference  may  be  intrinsic,  due  to  a  widening  range  of  cultural 
intercourse;  or  it  may  be  apparent,  and  due  to  comparative  data  for  the  later 
periods  being  much  fuller.  In  this  event  the  early  styles  might  prove  to  be 
equally  composite  in  origin  if  we  knew  enough  about  their  antecessors  and 
contemporaries. 

With  all  the  stylistic  borrowing  that  went  on,  there  is  an  evident  tendency 
toward  internal  assimilation  of  style.  Late  Chimu,  for  instance,  contains  style 
traits  derived  from  practically  every  part  and  period  of  Peru ;  but  it  is  no  crude 
commingling  of  these  elements.  While  it  lacks  the  astounding  creative  boldness 
and  sureness  of  imagination  that  set  the  earliest  styles  on  so  high  a  level,  it 
evinces  a  taste  and  elegance  that  would  be  impossible  without  a  definite  inner 
consistency.  If  the  history  of  the  earlier  styles  were  known,  a  similar  ability  to 
utilize  and  coherently  rework  elements  of  alien  origin  might  be  manifest. 

Neither  the  areal  nor  the  temporal  factor  can  be  disregarded  in  the  archaeo- 
logy of  Peru.  Their  interrelations  make  problems  complex  and  demand  the  most 
critical  approach.  But  an  ignoring  of  regional  considerations  must  vitiate  any 
chronological  reconstruction  at  innumerable  points,  as  almost  the  whole  of  the 
foregoing  discussion  shows.  And  a  negativistic  attitude  toward  time  sequences 
comes  to  little  else  than  a  refusal  to  consider  a  real  and  soluble  problem  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  complicated  and  difficult. 

The  great  need  for  further  knowledge  of  the  prehistory  of  Peru  is  from  the 
highland  interior.  But  so  little  detailed  and  reliable  information  is  available 
from  the  coast  that  accurate  data  from  there,  especially  as  to  associations  of 
material,  will  almost  certainly  go  far  to  clear  up  problems  not  only  of  the  coast, 
but  of  the  interior  as  well. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTES 

P.  9,  note  3.  Subsequently,  Dr.  Tello  has  employed  "Mochica"  instead 
of  "Chimu"  for  the  red  and  white  ware,  reserving  "Chimu"  for  the  combined 
Tallan-Mochica  culture  and  area. 

P.  13.  A  subsequent  view  from  a  more  advantageous  point  in  the  dry 
season  of  1926  shows  a  leaning  of  these  walls,  as  if  they  might  represent  a  fill 
against  the  side  of  a  smaller  pyramid  to  connect  this  with  a  larger  one  into  a 
greater  structure;  in  other  words,  the  Huaca  del  Sol  may  after  all  resemble 
most  other  Peruvian  constructions  in  having  been  a  piecemeal  accretion. 


43 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.    II,    PL.    I. 


I 


POTTERY  JAR  OF  PROTO-CHIMU  STYLE  IN  SHAPE  OF  A  PORTRAIT-HEAD. 
FROM  CHIMBOTE,    PERU  (ZAVALETA  COLLECTION). 


FIELD   MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.    II,    PL.    II. 


5  6 

POTTERY  VESSELS  OF  PROTO-CHIMU  STYLE. 
FROM  VIRU   (Figs,  i-s)  AND  CHIMBOTE  (Fig.  6),  PERU. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.    II,    PL.    III. 


POTTERY  WHISTLING  JAR  OF  CURSIVE  MODELED  STYLE. 
FROM  CHANCHAN,    PERU. 


FIELD  MUSEUM   OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,    VOL.    II,    PL.    IV. 


SPOUT-AND-BRIDGE  POTTERY  JARS  OF  CURSIVE  MODELED  STYLE. 
FROM  CHANCHAN,    PERU. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.    II,    PL.  V. 


$nk&p)l* 


5  6 

POTTERY  JARS  OF  RED-WHITE-BLACK  RECUOID  STYLE  (Figs.  1-4)  AND  SPECIAL  TYPES  (Figs.  5-6).  PERU. 


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FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.    II,    PL.   VII. 


POTTERY  VESSELS  OF  LATE  CHIMU  STYLE,  BLACKWARE. 
FROM  CHANCHAN,   PERU. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL   HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.    II,    PL.   VIII. 


POTTERY  VESSELS  OF  LATE  CHIMU  STYLE,  BLACKWARE. 
FROM  CHANCHAN,    PERU. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,    VOL.    II,    PL.    IX. 


POTTERY  VESSELS  OF  LATE  CHIMU  STYLE,  BLACKWARE. 
FROM  CHANCHAN,    PERU. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.    II,    PL.   X. 


POTTERY  VESSELS  OF  LATE  CHIMU  STYLE,  BLACKWARE  AND  FIGURINES. 
FROM  CHANCHAN,    PERU. 


FIELD   MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.   II,   PL.   XI. 


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FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.    II,   PL.   XII. 


POTTERY  DESIGNS,  STYLE  OF  CHAVIN.  CHICAMA  VALLEY.    AFTER  TELLO.    IN  MUSEO  DE  ARQUEOLOGIA  PERUANA. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    MEMOIRS,   VOL.   II,   PL.   XIII. 


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